[ P R O L O U G E ]

Taemin

                The air tasted crisp and wet because of the cold rainfall in the early morning, and you could hear crickets chirping loudly as five figures and their horses adventured through the forest. Among the riders was little Taemin, barely seventeen, and he was surely the most excited out of the five.

                Adrenalin pumped through his veins and his heart was beating against his chest. It was Taemin's first horseback riding in the forest, and how wonderful he felt. Taemin unconsciously smiled as he heard a crunch beneath him. An acorn Taemin thought, clearly proud of himself for knowing a small knowledge about nature.

                As a frail child of royal blood, Taemin was like a precious crystal ball. When he got sick, the whole house fell in panic, afraid that the young boy's fragile immune system would give, and the youngest son would pass away at such a young age. Being as delicate as he was, he wasn't allowed to do many things as a child. He was almost a trapped bird in a cage, wanting to view the outside world, to feel free. . . but in Taemin's case that was not possible. Maids and guards stood at the doors of his room; there were even guards underneath the balcony, just in case Taemin had thought of doing the classic 'I'm going to use my bed sheets to climb down the balcony' plan. Taemin hardly appreciated the effort his parents put into keeping him in the castle. But he couldn't do anything about it. He was just as weak mentally as his body.

                During the years, however, Taemin's health improved almost dramatically. Taemin became active as soon as his mother told him "Don't go too far honey" and started to explore the lands outside of his parent's land. Although Taemin wasn't allowed outside of the village, he was just happy that he was out of his room. His three brothers, however, did not waste time with the youngest, as they were too busy with training with swords, horseback riding, and of course looking at girls and babbling about princess and which was better. Taemin didn't mind though. More time to myself Taemin would always say to himself.

                As Taemin slowly grew up, he became more curious and adventurous. Being very skinny and flexible, Taemin was especially good at climbing. Being the meddlesome boy he was, he would always climb trees and building walls to explore the outside world, and also getting out of trouble. Not even his father's best men could climb as elegantly as Taemin could, and their armory were far too heavy to climb with. Taeyeon, his mother would become hysteric as she saw Taemin climbing a tree when he was young. As the mother, of course Taeyeon reported to the father about her son's behavior, only to get shooed off and telling her to relax. To her dismay, Onew even complimented the boy for such skills, and called him the 'Squirrel of Gasper Village'. Taemin slowly learned sword fighting as well, and learned how to use his quick and flexible body to win fights rather than strength (he was lacking in the muscles department).

                Taemin stuck his tongue out and tasted the humid forest air. He smiled to himself. Never will I be trapped in the kingdom. . . I'm not officially a prince Taemin excitingly thought when a voice intruded his thoughts.

                "Taemin! Hurry up! You're falling behind!" Taemin looked up to see Key, one of his older brothers with an annoyed expression on his face. "I'm coming!" Taemin replied as he hastily grabbed the reigns and slightly whipped them to notice the horse for a slow gallop.

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This is my first story on Asianfanfics.com, so please bear with me as I get used to the site and all that fancy stuff. This will not update weekly, but rather whenever I get a chance to type. English is NOT my first language, so I will try my best alright? I'm a sophmore, so I'm not too busy with homework, but high school is still pretty hectic.

I will start this story after my poster is done ^^~ Sorry for the wait~