Once upon a time, a unified kingdom lived peacefully, sprawling from the frigid north to the tropical south shores.

It was a very long time ago. Peace didn’t last; people got too ambitious and jealous or self-serving, and battles broke out. The civil war split the kingdom in half, and the war has gone on ever since.

Prince Sehun grows up hearing war stories instead of fairy tales. He rarely sees his father, who’s either on the field or with his generals. He isn’t allowed to just stay with his mother, either; he’s taken from the palace to train with the other boys on how to become soldiers.

The king dies in battle, replaced by his first son. At his coronation, Sehun asks, “Why do we have to fight so much? Aren’t you tired?”

“It’s what we’ve done for generations; we have to protect our people.”

“We used to be one people.”

“That was a long time ago… Don’t you want to avenge our father?”

Sehun doesn’t. He’s sad the man is dead, but he feels nothing deeper than that. If there had been an attempt at peace, he could still be alive.

It almost seems deserved.

“Everyone says we fight because we have to. Why?” Sehun stares at his reflection as a servant adjusts plated mail over the prince’s shoulders.

“I-I don’t know, your highness.”

“My father wouldn’t listen to me. My brother is too focused on pointless revenge...” He sighs, pulling an arm up to test the fit of the armor. “There must be a better way.”

“If anyone can find a way, I’m sure it will be you, sir.”

Sehun wishes he could be so optimistic. If he dies, the crown goes to some cousin; that branch of the family tree has been waiting for the royal family’s limbs to fall. They’re hungry for power, not peace.

It seems as though he’s the only one looking for an alternative to war. For as many stories as there are of the battles and skirmishes, he has yet to discover a key moment that triggered everything. There is the possibility, he supposes, that the people just got tired, and the frustrations mounted up and spilled over and snowballed into a continuing avalanche of violence. Fighting is just more familiar than anything else.

But Sehun believes they can learn. His father was an old war horse; his brother emulates him. If Sehun ever comes to power, his reign will focus on resolutions rather than rampage.

It’s an uplifting thought until a messenger tells him his brother is dead, and he is the new leader of the kingdom.

Physically, he's prepared and one of the most agile soldiers, but mentally, he's overwhelmed—there’s no time to grieve or even prepare before he’s taken to the frontlines and shown maps and documents and asked for orders, and his inexperience as a tactician has the generals murmuring among themselves and wondering if they should take over.

Sehun would be grateful if they did. He knows he's out of his depths, but he also accepts that it is his duty to put on a brave face and do all he can to protect his people.

He and his generation inherited this war. He's certain his own children—should he live long enough to have any—will take over once they're of age, as well.

The thought doesn’t sit well with him, and he makes his opinion known whenever he can. His generals make their disagreement known, as well.

“Taking out the hospitals and places of worship will break their resolve and cut off any recovery. The king discussed it before but never implemented it.”

“As king, I have no recollection of any such discussion.”

“The old king, highness. Your father. Crushing the morale of the enemy can only assure our victory.”

“My father is dead and no longer in charge of the lives and future of this kingdom. I will not condone such savagery, particularly when a majority of those injured and killed would be civilians.”

“They are the enemy—”

“They are human beings, just like you, me, and anyone else.” Sehun rubs his temples, breathing heavily through his nose. “I understand where you’re coming from, and I respect your opinion and everything you have done all these years, but we cannot continue this pointless war.”

“There is no alternative, my prince. As long as the southern kingdom opposes us, there will be war.”

“What if we gave them a reason to not oppose us?” Instead of consistently killing their people, maybe they could offer aid. Baby steps to an uneasy truce that could become more natural as time went on.

“A nice dream, but—”

Shouts draw the council’s attention outside. Clashes of metal on metal and the clink of falling chains has the guards drawing their swords and bracing themselves before the king and generals.

A blade penetrates the seam of the double doors. Shifting right, it levers the lock and pops the doors open.

On the other side is a mess of bodies and scattered weapons. Everyone is moving slowly; no one seems to be dead. The culprit wears the furred clothes of an unaffiliated rogue, an assassin for hire. They extend their arm, brandishing their clean blade, and drop it. Following suit, they slowly get down to stand on one knee.

“Arrest this man!”

Sehun grabs the general’s arm, then pushes between the guards to approach the rogue, exposing himself to whatever danger they bring. "Who are you?"

A gloved hand pulls the hood from their head and mask from their face. The generals murmur amongst themselves, stunned. He’s a stranger, but Sehun recognizes the tanned skin and dark eyes from the southern kingdom.

"I am Prince Jongin. I come with a proposal."

"Name it."

Jongin raises a hand. He can't be much older than Sehun, but his determination is unwavering, meeting the king’s eyes levelly. "Marry me. Let's end this war." White scars mar his jaw, old wounds from battle. Beneath the steely resolve, there's a warmth in his brown eyes that starts to thaw the icy hopelessness that had started to chill Sehun's chest.

Sehun dreamed of a peaceful solution, and it traveled their war-torn country to deliver itself.

Ignoring the protests, the king places his hand on the prince's palm, smiling as it's drawn to dry lips. "I accept your proposal."

a/n: Written for Monthly SeKai's fourth challenge: treating them like royalty.

There was more to this idea, inspired in part by a webcomic I really enjoy; however, it just did not come out. I was kind of wanting to write it like a legend or fairy tale, but it didn't stick. The idea itself is still good, and I like it. I'd like to keep working it.