The armour didn't quite fit him, but costumes were like that. Never quite right. There was space around his chest and shoulders for muscles he didn't have and he couldn't tell if the arms were designed to make himself look more buff than he was or if he was just too thin for them. Either way, the job opportunity had been too good to pass up and if a badly fitted costume was going to be his only complaint then this would be the best acting role he had ever landed.

After all, how many people got chosen to work in the royal castle?

The job itself sounded a little silly, but it was long-term and the benefits were more than anyone could ask for: a home on the royal grounds, food provided, bills paid, basic fabric washing service and a comfortable wage. Not to mention royal guards were he to leave the grounds to go to the local markets. It was a pretty cosy deal and he wasn't going to pass it up.

He looked at himself in the mirror of his new home. It was simple, but better than his old home. The bed wasn't fancy but it was sturdy and the materials high quality. The floor was polished with woven rugs laid out beneath the furniture. The large wardrobe was filled with comfortable, expensive-looking clothes that had strangely fantastical designs on them and unusual colours.

“No Minwoo,” He said to his reflection, “You are now an official Knight of the Palace Guard.”

He paused to take his his over-decorated armour that was cleanly polished and evidently had never seen a day of war.

“Or at least you pretend to be.”

 

The grounds were huge. Bigger than he could comprehend. Like it's own country spreading far out in intricate flower gardens and mazes and forests and fields and lakes. When he'd first been told he'd be living in a village on the grounds he thought he would be in the shadow of the palace, but in reality it was a fifteen minute ride away by horse. Somehow he hadn't expected there to be literal houses and shops and a mill and a stables to be all located within the grounds, along with some local farmland.

The buildings all had the same strange fantasy-like style to them, with colourful exteriors and bumpy bricks that matched the cobblestone streets. The whole village looked like doll houses. Some even had little pots of plants outside the windows or bushes of some climbing plant growing up the walls around the door.

He walked slowly through the streets. A few people waved and he waved back, smiling nervously. Everyone was up and going about their jobs, all dressed like characters from a book. Some people even had jewellery adorned in their hair or embroidery too detailed for labour work.

It was a strange place. Everyone costumed up pretending to do jobs for the youngest prince to prance around in his own imaginary kingdom. Soe of them doing jobs that didn't even exist.

Like Minwoo. Who's job was to aid the prince in rescuing the princess.

Who was an actress. Pretending to be a princess.

It was a strange place.

 

Minwoo's assigned horse was large and glossy brown with a pale fluffy mane and tail. It trotted comfortably with him on it's back as though it barely noticed him sat there. He gripped the reigns desperately, worried he'd fall off at any point. He wasn't used to anything other than the old work horses at a walk.

They stopped in a large open field surrounded by trees, the breeze pleasant and the fragrant smell of flowers floated past. He closed his eyes for a moment, appreciating the silence. After a moment he heard the sound of galloping hooves and frowned, then opened his eyes again.

A shining golden horse bursts through the trees, main blowing with the wind and hoover shimmering with polish. It's saddle was adorned with gold edges, intricate patterns pressed into the leather and embroidery. The man atop it was dressed in decorated, shining armour encrusted with jewels with a large cape billowing out behind him. He had the fair skin of someone who didn't spend much time outside and his hair had been parted neatly and scraped back from his handsome face.

Minwoo felt his heart sink as he looked at the prince. He'd be entertaining the most self-indulgent man-child for his entire career.

“The new knight!” The young prince – who, Minwoo realised, was actually older than him – exclaimed cheerfully as the horse pranced over. “Let's have a look at you!”

Minwoo held still as the prince walked around him. He knew there were several princes, and this was the youngest who would never inherit the throne nor rule any land. He tried to remember his name.

“You seem perfectly up to the task! What is your name, Knight?”

“My name is No Minwoo, Your Highness.”

“You mean, Sir No Minwoo.”

“Um. Yes. My apologies, Your Highness. My name is Sir No Minwoo.”

“Sir Minwoo will do.” The prince flashed a grin. “And as you know, I am His Royal Highness Prince Donghyun the First. But you may call me Prince Donghyun.”

He felt immediate relief for the memo. “An honour, Your Highness.”

“Prince Donghyun.”

“An honour, Prince Donghyun.” He did not feel much relief to the prince's attitude.

“Excellent. I hope you last some time, Sir Minwoo. My last night perished violently.”

Minwoo paled.

Prince Donghyun laughed. “I jest, I jest. He fell off his horse and could no longer ride.”

This didn't feel much better, in Minwoo's opinion.

“Now, come along. We will ride to rescue the princess!” Prince Donghyun needlessly drew the jewel encrusted sword from the sheath on his side and it into the air, the blade catching the light and nearly blinding his new knight in the process. “Onward!”

Before Minwoo could even respond, the prince had charged off across the field. He sighed heavily, already filled with regret, and nervously urged his horse to follow. It seemed to understand the general plan and comfortably galloped after the prince, ignoring its rider's fearful hold.

 

They arrived in front of a comically small castle, barely larger than Minwoo's own house but with a tall tower several floors high. At the foot of it were several helmeted knights in black armour with exaggeratedly villainous looking crests on their chests and large spears crossed over the doors of the 'castle'. At the top Minwoo could see a very bored looking princess with her hair decorated with shiny treads and a delicate tiara. She gave him a small smile and he felt some dread inside him.

“Stand aside, evil fiends! Release the princess immediately!” Prince Donghyun called with the enthusiasm and vigour of someone who had never been in a fight before.

“To rescue the princess, you must first defeat us!” The knights called in response, with the force and monotone of people who had said the same lines for several years.

“Then prepare for battle!” The prince retaliated with the same raised energy.

Minwoo was incredibly thankful we'd already been walked through this before, and dismounted at the same time as the prince, drawing his sword at his hip. The blade shone in the light and he could see it's deliberately dulled edges. It was less dangerous than the wooden swords he'd used in stage plays. He felt very slightly offended.

The knights half ran towards them, swords raised, and he lifted his own. He and the prince took one knight each. There was a very obvious routine to the fight, and he was able to easily follow the actions of his opponent. He glanced over for a moment and spotted the prince in the middle of a much more dramatic sword fight. The knight went down onto his knees in an over-the-top manner, and eventually 'put out of his misery' as the prince jammed his sword into the obviously very padded stomach of the knight. He turned back to his own knight and made a less-dramatic 'killing' poke to the ribs. The knight obediently fell to the floor in a dead-ish manner.

He was going to have to catch them off-hours sometime and talk about choreographing the fights if he was going to do this every few days for several years. He wouldn't be shocked if he found out the previous knight had thrown himself off the horse out of sheer boredom.

By now the prince had moved on and, in one dramatic movement, kicked the doors open. They swung apart with ease, showing a ridiculously dark interior that Minwoo realised had actually been painted black and dark grey for dramatic effect. He followed the prince indoors, giving the worryingly realistic skeletons that hung from definitely real chains and braces an uncertain look.

Prince Donghyun set to the stairs, leaping up them like he was weightless. Minwoo kept up easily, glad to have spent so much time up and down ladders at theatres. They twisted around and around the tower, until they finally reached the top and met a round wooden door.

“Knock it open, Sir Minwoo!” the prince ordered, excited.

“Yes, Your Highness!” he said quickly and immediately pushed his shoulder to the door. It gave way beneath him with some ease and he half stumbled into the room.

Prince Donghyun stepped into the room before him, hands on his hips.

The princess smiled vaguely and stood from her seat by the window, setting down a book she had been reading on the windowsill. She was a pretty woman with sunkissed skin and captivating eyes and the features of someone powerful enough to rescue herself if she really wanted to. But she was being paid a hefty sum of money to not want to.

“You've finally arrived!” She said in a well-rehearsed voice that would have been convincing had Minwoo not spent years acting with women reciting the same lines.

“Come with me, Princess! We will ride away from this dark place and back to safety!” He said, taking the princess' hand and pulling her to him.

She seemed endlessly amused.

Minwoo stood aside as the two paraded from the room and down the stairs. He took a moment to glance around the room, interested by the shelves of books and puzzle-toys that had collected in there to keep her occupied until the rescue party arrived, then followed them down.

When they stepped outside the knights were still strewn on the floor, probably for some sense of realism. Minwoo had to applaud their dedication.

Prince Donghyun was giving some speech about the great battle that had gone down and the life he had risked to have the princess as Minwoo looked around, taking in the surroundings while he had time. He glanced up to the windowsill, thinking about the room inside, and spotted the book hanging over the edge of the sill.

It tilted slowly, then fell.

“Your Highness!” Minwoo said, alarmed, when he realised where it was going to fall. “Your Highness, move!” He instinctively took a step forward, pushing the prince aside.

The book hit his shoulder and handed in his outstretched hand.

“That was close,” he breathed. Then glanced up and paled when he saw the prince's shocked expression. “I'm sorry!” He stepped back quickly, holding the book in front of him like a shield.

“You pushed me,” the prince began, shocked.

“Oh, but he saved you!” The princess quickly cut in, reading the tension of the situation. “How noble of him, to protect his prince! You have such a loyal Knight.”

The prince only nodded silently, then turned away and guided the princess onto the saddle of his horse.

The princess looked back at Minwoo with a concerned expression, but gestured that he should saddle-up too.

They rode in silence.

 

They reached the village, the princes side-saddled behind the prince, and the villagers swarmed out of their homes to applaud the rescue and throw confetti and dance in the streets. It was exceptionally bizarre.

He stabled his horse and was met by the stableboy who suggested he take part in the celebrations for a while. He nodded, and gave the steed a fond pat. So far it seemed to be the only thing that understood him. Or at least, wasn't acting strange. Which was fairly easy to do, he reasoned.

He gave the creature one last look, wondering if it would be the last time he ever saw it, before heading out. He would spend as much of the day out of the Prince's sight as he could until it all passed over and he was inevitably kicked out of the castle.

Or executed.

He prayed for the former.