The sun shined brightly through the tall clear windows as it landed on the red carpet that led to the shoes of the young man- should we say…boy?-as he gazed boredly at his workers. His light brown hair shone softly in the light while the rays reflected off his perfectly crisp white robes. The gold threads gleamed enticingly along the edges of the fabric while his gold encrusted boots tapped irritated on the marble tiles. His gold-gloved hands propped his chin up gracefully as he gazed around the hall, the workers hurriedly carrying on with their jobs as if he was the King, if the jewel-encrusted gold band on his head didn’t signify it anyway. But to his dismay, he wasn’t the king; he was just the ‘Prince’ even if he was ruling the entire kingdom.

“Tch.” The fourteen-year-old Prince snapped his fingers as a butler hurried to his side. “Isn’t there anything ELSE to bring me? These things don’t interest me anymore.”

“Sire, we have gone through all the furniture you have collected from all over the world. There is nothing new we could present to you even if we could.”

“You incompetent fools! I want all of you out of here by the count of three or I’ll get the guards to kill you all!” The workers scrambled to the exit. “Three!”

The guards descended on the group like a mob of squabbling vultures. They knew that if they didn’t get someone’s blood on their sword by the end of it, it would be their own blood that stained the red carpet.

The Prince watched with bored eyes as the corpses were taken away and dumped in a faraway ditch before snapping his fingers once again. A new replacement stumbled towards his golden throne.

“Prepare Sebastian. I want to ride through town. And get Soon Hwa. She must ride with me.”

“Yes, Sir Minho. I-I mean-Your Majesty!”

The butler bowed quickly before running out of the back door, tripping over his feet and falling out the door.

---

Soon Hwa sat back and watched the children run around the courtyard with gentle eyes. They seemed so happy and carefree, just like her a few years back. Sighing, her fingers knotted four-leafed clovers together tightly into a loop before a shadow fell upon her petite form. Soon Hwa looked up and smiled softly as the black-haired boy grinned goofily. He dropped down onto the grass next to her and propped his hands behind his head while gazing at her.

“So how was training? I heard Sir Junyoung is very strict and harsh on you guys.” Soon Hwa said, still watching the kids.

“Haha! You know better than anyone that I’m going to be the best knight out there! A little training has never dragged me down. How about you? I heard that you finished your apprenticeship with Sir Jaejin, are you really that good with weapons?”

“I guess so…And ‘a little training’? I remember you were at my door yesterday begging for me to give you a shoulder massage, I’m never going to do that again then!”

“Awww but you gave it to me anyway. You can’t help but fall to my charms, eh Soonie?” He winked at her before pulling her down to lay with him.

“Dongjun! What if someone sees us?!”

He fixed her with his smouldering gaze before he smiled gently, fondly tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. Dongjun and Soon Hwa had been together with the Prince ever since they were young kids, just like the ones she had been watching. As they grew up and went their separate ways within the castle, Dongjun had also realized slowly what the affection he reserved only for the small girl was. He kept in contact with her, protected her, became her best friend; he loved to see her smile and sought to one day be able to make her happy for the rest of her life. By this age (he was 14 and she was 13), everyone around the castle had gotten use to the two of them together; whether it be hugging or holding hands, the royal household had already thought of them as married.

Something light on his head jerked Dongjun out of his reverie as his hand automatically flew to his crown, the same ring of clovers Soon Hwa had been knotting together. His eyes flew to her flushed cheeks as she pouted and tapped her two pointer fingers together. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a royal butler appearing and hurrying towards them.

“S-Soon Hwa. Please prepare your horse. You are going for a ride through town with his Highness.”

“Oh, Pierre. Why are you- Did he get rid of the last group?! Oh Minho… What have you become…?”

Soon Hwa got up and dusted off her uniform before heading towards the stables. Dongjun grabbed her hand and pulled her back into a hug before pecking her cheek happily. She slapped his arm half heartedly before running off, hiding her blushing face from his sight. The truth was: She couldn’t tell him who her heart belonged to.

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Thank you to:

nicetomeetyou for commenting first and convincing me to continue posting the story as I type it.