Chapter Text
Dawn came quicker than you wished.
When you awoke, the sun hadn't yet risen above the horizon, and Prince Jeonghan was still asleep. He looked so unrealistically lovely, the slow rise and fall of his breathing, his hair strewn lazily over his face-- it was a sight you wished to see every morning.
But the moment couldn't last forever. If either of you wished to escape before the rest of the castle awoke, now would be the time to do so.
You sighed with great reluctance. "Your highness- ah.. I mean, Jeonghan," you whispered while gently nudging the sleeping beauty beside you. "Wake up, we should leave before sunrise."
His eyebrows furrowed frustratedly, and he curled deeper into the warmth of his bed. "Please spare me, I didn't get much sleep with your intoxicating presence beside me." he groaned.
You scoffed. Even when he was half conscious he was a flirt.
"It could have been prevented if you'd let me sleep on the futon." You joked. He sat up, rubbing the precious bits of sleep from his eyes, followed by an incredible stretch. "How would you ensure my safety while being so far away?" The prince hummed sleepily.
You shook your head with a quiet giggle. After a quick yawn you remove yourself from the prince's bed and made your way to the futon where your protective gear lay. Jeonghan stared, entranced with your noble wonder. He was unable to fathom how one person could look so majestic putting on a uniform. 'I shouldn't be the one they call "Your Majesty"...' he thought to himself as he bit his lip, unaware you'd asked him a question. He blinked and cast his gaze elsewhere. Jeonghan never imagined he might be the one caught blushing. What a wonder you were to him.
"Could you repeat that Y/N? I'd been too encapsulated by you to hear what you'd said." He said, returning to his playful flirtatious manner.
You saw an opportunity and took it.
"My dear prince, has one night sharing slumber caused you to fall for me already? Are you sure you'll be able to make this dangerous journey or shall I carry you the entire way?" You were only half-joking. In all honesty if the prince asked you to carry him simply from his bed to the other side of his room, you'd do it without another thought.
"Don't tempt me please." he chimed back.
There wasn't a thing you wouldn't do for him.
After packing the bare essentials, it was finally time to embark on what might be the most defining moment in either of your lives, besides meeting each other.
You took a deep breath. "Ready my liege?" you looked back at Jeonghan, your hand already grasping the doorknob.
"Thank you for saving me from this, dear knight." the prince whispered with deep gratitude.
"Don't thank me now," you said with a quiet chuckle, "We aren't out of the woods just yet."
In the time before serving as Prince Jeonghan's royal guard you'd served as part of the knights' patrol team. You'd come to learn the layout of the castle very well; the turn of every corner, each room and their keepers. However it had been a while, and you could only hope the guards and castlefolk kept the same routines you memorized. You intended to remove the both of you from the castle premises before anyone realized the you had disappeared, and without an idea of where to search.
Jeonghan followed close behind your path. Many times he had to refrain from latching onto your arm out of fear someone might see and accuse you of fraternizing with the prince. While he'd grown up in this very castle, it was beginning to dawn on him just how much he didn't know about it. Through the halls you took him that he didn't recognize, he realized the castle staff hadn't been treated as well as the higher ups. In these lower quarters, the floors were cracked, walls peeling, and lights dying out. Jeonghan wondered if you'd been living in poor conditions under the castle's roof, and the thought only made him want to rebel more.
You lead Jeonghan down many hallways and staircases, pausing in your tracks every now and then to listen for footsteps. You planned to leave through an often unnoticed side entrance in the castle that would eventually lead to the horse stables. The seemingly unnecessarily placed entrance always confused you if everyone always used the main entrance anyway, but today you'd never been more grateful for it.
"Your Majesty? What are you doing so far from your usual rounds of the castle?" a new voice called.
The Knights' warden from last night.
You clenched your jaw, slowly turning around to face the voice that inquired the prince. Every alarm in your body was screaming to take the prince by the hand and make a run for it, but you knew how foolish that would be.
"And you, Y/N, you never turned up last night." He had a confused yet stern look in his eyes, like he was challenging you to say the wrong thing. You opened your mouth to speak but Jeonghan was quicker than you.
"That would be my fault, I requested Y/N spend the night watching over me. I've been suffering from night terrors recently, and my knight's presence helped me find rest."
You were thankful for how quickly he came up with the fib, and how well he told it. You weren't sure any of your excuses would have sufficed The warden hummed. He seemed to fall for Jeonghan's lie, but by the way his gaze lingered on you made your stomach churn. Would he question you further?
"I'm glad you were able to find rest, Your Majesty." the warden bowed before turning back around and leaving the two of you in silence.
You cursed inwardly. While he hadn't discovered your schemes, you really wished the two of you could have escaped unseen. You shook your head. "Let's keep moving." you whispered before continuing your way down the winding hallway. You couldn't get your mind off of the look in the warden's eyes and how close your schemes almost fell apart. You became distracted from the predicament as part of you began to worry maybe you didn't know the castle grounds as well as you thought, and the both of you might be lost.
"Is that it, Y/N?" Jeonghan asked whilst tugging on your sleeve to get your attention. He was pointing to an entrance that looked like any other door except for the small window to peep through. It really was a wonder why it often went unnoticed.
You frowned sheepishly. 'Ah. I guess that door really does have a knack for going unnoticed.' "It is. Good eye my prince."
Jeonghan reveled in your small praise. While it may have not seemed like such a big feat, he really didn't want to feel like a useless fling; he was glad to have done something meaningful even in the slightest.
You approached the door, hand on the knob. You turned to look at Jeonghan.
"There's no turning back after this."
"I'm aware of that dear knight."
You grinned. "Then let's get out of here my liege."
The door opened to the still very dim outside, as the sun still hadn't shown her face yet. You took Jeonghan down a rocky path that lead to the back of the horses' stables.
"Wait here." You told Jeonghan as you went in to search for your own horse. Scanning the names of the mares and stallions engraved into wooden signs, you spotted your steed not to far away. You approached the stable, opening it as quietly as you could manage.
"Hey buddy." You whispered to the horse as you unhooked it's saddle from the wall and placed it on the back of the great steed. After attaching the rest of the necessary equipment, and feeding your horse a quick snack, you lead them by the reins to meet back up with Jeonghan.
"Jeonghan, this is my horse "Peony", she'll be our ride out of here." you said with a soft smile.
"A lovely animal for a lovely owner." Jeonghan hummed, reaching to pet Peony. "May I?" he looked at you. You gave a gentle nod, finding the interaction between animal and man very endearing.
"Let's wait 'til we're off castle grounds to mount her. I don't want the sound from her running to alert anyone." You explained, and Jeonghan nodded eagerly.
It was quiet again as you pulled the horse along with Jeonghan following in step beside you. He was staring into the unblended sky, most likely thinking about how vastly his life would come to change. No more responsibilities, no more control over his every move, and no more loneliness. He looked back to you, the corner up his mouth slightly upturned in a gentle grin. Jeonghan vowed he would express his gratitude to you until the day he died.
He blinked. 'Til the day I die?'. The Prince had never imagined spending the rest of his life in your company, but in this moment it felt like something clicked. Jeonghan looked away. He wouldn't mind spending eternity with you.
The land before you soon became more and more rough, grass untamed and rocks running wild. You knew the castle was far behind you now, and it was safe to travel by horse.
"We can leave the rest of the walking to Peony now." You smiled, inserting one foot into the loop of the saddle and swinging your other leg around the horse's side, settling comfortably on the saddle. You held out a hand for Jeonghan. He grasped it tightly, trying to hoist himself up and mimic your move. Once comfortably seated, he held his hands up hesitantly.
"Do I.." the words died in his throat as he stared at your waist shyly. You let out a chuckle.
"What happened to the flirtatious Prince Jeonghan who was glued to my arm the previous night?" You teased.
Jeonghan bit his lip, blush creeping along his ears and face as he gingerly placed his hands on your waist.
"Think of it like a hug. A hug to keep both of us safe." You attempted to make him feel less embarassed. Part of you was glad he'd been shy for once, otherwise you might be the one at a loss for words.
"Hyah!" You shouted, giving the reigns a light whip to get the horse running. Jeonghan yelped and fell forward, reflexively wrapping his arms rather than just his hands around your waist. He hadn't anticipated how rough riding a horse would be. "I-I'm sorry, I thought I might fall!" he sputtered.
"You can embrace me like that if it makes you feel safer.." You said quietly.
Jeonghan felt his heart flutter. "Okay.." he said quietly, allowing himself to embrace you from behind. Eventually he calmed down and felt comfortable enough to rest his head on your back and close his eyes, his lips spreading into a grin. "We should go on horse rides together often." he said cheekily.
"Ah, there's the Prince Jeonghan I know!" you giggled.
'I'd love to.' You agreed silently. It was quiet, with the exception of the thundering hooves of the steed galloping across the uneven terrain. The sun peaked over the clouds, painting the vast stretch of the sky a bright pink with twinges of orange and yellow. Had the circumstances been different, you'd consider it a very romantic scene.
"Where are we going?" Jeonghan broke the silence, his voice humming against your back.
"You said you'd like to live in the a forest, didn't you?"
Jeonghan grinned. "I would. Do you have a cottage in the forest, dear Y/N?" he inquired.
"Not I, but an old companion-- or rather, ex-mentor does. He owns a magical little home in the woods, where he raised me as his own when my sickly mother no longer could."
"Why'd you leave?" Jeonghan inquired innocently.
You looked at the sky briefly. "I was foolish-- too much in a rush to grow up. I wanted to explore the world outside the forest." You paused. "I think it's past time I payed him a visit. He'll be overjoyed to see me.."
Remorse mixed around in your chest as you recollected the sad expression on your mentor's face when you said you wanted to leave. You we're hardly a teenager, it was no surprise he'd forbade you to leave. At the time, you resented him for it. Thinking back, you wish you'd waited 'til you were older to leave home. Branching off at such a young age left you in so many frightening situations, many of which you knew could have been avoided.
Jeonghan watched you go quiet as you became lost in thought. He felt guilty for asking the question that clearly had some weight behind it for you. "I'm sorry Y/N, I didn't intend to dig up old regrets.."
You blinked your thoughts away, fading back into reality.
"Don't be sorry Jeonghan. Had I not left home, I might not have become the knight who'd free you from your shackles." you reassured him.
Jeonghan hummed. "Thank you for sacrificing your well-being at a young age to save my own." he partially joked.
Silence fell again, the thundering of the steed's hooves being the only noise in your ears. Many fields passed, each glittered with special flowers of their own. The sun reached higher and higher into the sky, casting firey light across every scene you traveled over.
The castle staff must be awake by now, the two of you figured. Jeonghan felt a twinge of nervousness pierce his gut. He imagined they'd knock on his door to greet him, and immediately incite a panic when they realized the prince was no where to be seen. Soon, they'd notice one of their knights was missing too, the same one that the prince requested to stay the knight in his quarters, and the same one the warden had seen last with the prince.
Jeonghan hoped the woods was enough to hide a prince and his dear knight.