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For as long as he could remember, Dongyoung had been living his life with the sole purpose of taking over the crown of the kingdom of Rosatio once his parents could no longer fulfill the duties of king and queen. There had been countless lessons on diplomacy, strategy, sword fighting… He knew it was his duty as the crown prince to strive to be the best leader for his people, and even though he would often envy the freedom his younger brother, Jeno, could afford to have, not once did he complain out loud.
Dongyoung lacked freedom even to choose his own partner. As his twenty third birthday approached, his parents organized a ceremony to celebrate it, and one of the events was an archery contest. Princes and princesses from all neighbouring kingdoms were invited to try their chance at becoming engaged to the heir of Rosatio, and Dongyoung could do nothing but watch as the royal palace was swept by the preparations for his birthday celebrations.
The other constant in Dongyoung’s life was the presence of Taeyong Lee. Taeyong was the son of one of the king’s most trusted soldiers, born less than a year before the crown prince; Dongyoung's earliest memories all seem to involve Taeyong, running around the courtyard on a warm summer afternoon, climbing a pear tree in the royal orchard for a mid-morning snack, spending countless hours in the royal library learning letters and words and grammar and literature… As Dongyoung learned to be a king, Taeyong learned to be his advisor; from an early age, they were both taught to rely on each other and to support each other for better and for worse.
Taeyong was there for Dongyoung when Jeno was born and the eyes were no longer focused on the crown prince only; Dongyoung was there for Taeyong when the kitten he had found on the streets of the city had to be taken away to a farm; they saw each tooth gap, each birthday celebration, each laughter and each tear. Where there was Dongyoung, there was Taeyong; where there was Taeyong, there was Dongyoung; it was almost an unspoken law.
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At the age of 11, Taeyong read about love, a feeling so beautiful every poet tried to capture in their works. Some characterized it as a flame, some characterized it as an illness, some characterized it as danger. At the age of 11, when Taeyong thought about love, he thought of watching Dongyoung smile as they played around the castle, lost in their own world, and he knew love was not a bad thing, despite of what the poets said.
At the age of 15, when Taeyong thought about love, he thought about Dongyoung running towards him, eager to tell him the good news: as part of Taeyong’s training, he would be moving into the castle to live next to the crown prince, and the two boys would spend every waking minute by each other’s side.
At the age of 19, when Taeyong thought about love, he thought about how Dongyoung had softly brought their lips together one day, as they sat by the riverbank and watched the sun disappear behind the mountains on the horizon. Dongyoung had claimed to have seen his cousin Hyoyeon do the same to her friend, and decided to see for himself what that was like.
At the age of 23, when Taeyong thought about love, he thought about the preparatives to Dongyoung’s engagement party to an unknown royal; the kiss by the river was now merely a wave in an ocean of memories, an instant of madness in a lifetime of sanity; the smile, once so bright and abundant, was getting rarer at each passing moment. At the age of 23, when Taeyong thought about love, he remembered all the poets he had doubted and apologized to each and every one of them, for they were right all along.
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“What do you mean, prince Donghyuck is taking part in the contest? He is a child!” Dongyoung tried to keep his voice low, as anyone other than Taeyong would frown upon hearing his complaints, but the absurdity of the situation kept him from being too quiet.
“He is of age, Your Highness! He is as old as Jeno, remember?” Taeyong knew he had to be the rational counterpart in that moment.
“That just proves my point even further - they are both children in my heart! There’s no way I am marrying him if he wins, Taeyong! Plus, something tells me Jeno would be rather upset if that were to happen...”
“You cannot simply decide to not marry the winner, Your Highness, we have been through that-”
“We have also been through the fact that you don’t have to call me Your Highness when we are in private, and yet, here we are...”
“Don’t be like that. You and I both know not keeping our distance would do us more harm than good now that you are about to be engaged to another person.”
“We have our whole lives for you to call me Your Highness, Taeyongie. Let me be your Dongyoungie for a little while longer.”
The softness of his voice matched the look on his eyes, and it took every fiber on Taeyong’s being to control his wishes at that moment, but he knew better than to be impulsive. After all, his greatest skill was to always put Dongyoung ahead of himself.
“It is time to start the festivities. Your future partner awaits, Your Highness.” He said, bowing to the crown prince and leaving the room without looking back. Little did he know the feelings hidden in his chest were a perfect match to those plastered all over Dongyoung’s face.
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As Dongyoung reached the festivity grounds and took his seat next to Jeno and his parents, he saw a line of men and women staring back at him with their bows and arrows in hand. Their names were announced soon after the cheers for the crown prince had died down, and so were the rules for the contest: every prince or princess older than eighteen years of age, of a land with strong ties with Rosatio, had the chance of shooting three arrows into a target. The royal with the best result would be offered an engagement to crown prince Dongyoung.
Some of the contestants, Dongyoung had only heard of; some, he had seen in a few occasions such as birthdays and weddings; some, he would even consider to be his friends. The line began with princesses Joohyun and Jihyo of Porfius, followed by prince Sicheng and princess Doyeon of Stramen, princes Yoonoh and Minhyung of Yilan, princess Seulgi and prince Jungwoo of Midea, prince Yuta of Aerilis and princes Youngho and Donghyuck of Solaria. If Dongyoung had to guess, prince Yuta and prince Youngho, two of his closest friends apart from Taeyong, were forced to be in this situation much like himself. Prince Donghyuck’s motivation was still a mystery, as Dongyoung had always thought he was rather fond of Jeno, but there was also a chance he had been forced to attend, much like his older brother. As for the others, Dongyoung had no idea.
Princess Joohyun, known all across the land for her determination and wit, as well as for her outstanding archery skills, was the first contestant. Dongyoung had to admit she was a beautiful woman, and they had gotten along quite well in the few times they had met, so she definitely was not the worst option. As soon as she took her place in front of the target, however, she quickly fired her arrows into the ground as a clear message of her intentions. Dongyoung wished he could do the same.
Princess Jihyo seemed to try a little harder than her sister, but her results were rather poor. Prince Sicheng and princess Doyeon did fairly well, and so did princes Yoonoh and Minhyung, but not enough to match prince Jungwoo, who had a near perfect score. Even his older sister, princess Seulgi, had been surprised at the accuracy.
Prince Yuta, ever the charmer, gave prince Youngho a wink before imitating princess Joohyun and wasting his three shots, except his eyes remained focused on the Solarian as a captivating smirk grew on his face. “Well,” Dongyoung thought, “if Youngho does not get the message now, Yuta may as well give up on him entirely.” Luckily for prince Yuta, prince Youngho also let his arrows hit the ground, running off to hug the Aerilian, not caring about the audience surrounding them.
Unfortunately, that only left Dongyoung two equally bad options: either prince Jungwoo would remain on top, or little prince Donghyuck would surpass his marks. Prince Jungwoo was definitely handsome, Dongyoung could see, but it was only his first time seeing the Midean, so he had no idea what to expect from a possible engagement and marriage; as for prince Donghyuck, the mere thought of being in a relationship with someone he had babied for almost his entire life made his stomach churn. Looking to the side, he could feel Jeno getting rather fidgety as prince Donghyuck prepared to take his shots.
To everyone’s surprise, prince Donghyuck matched prince Jungwoo’s score, and Dongyoung could not decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. As the king and the queen joined their advisors in deciding how to proceed, the crown prince searched for his own advisor, finding him with a frown on his otherwise lovely face. Dongyoung had to fight the urge to leave his spot at that exact moment and comfort him, for all he truly wanted was for Taeyong to be by his side. It had been his wish since they were teenagers, when Dongyoung would watch Taeyong’s eyes glisten as he talked about an animal he had encountered or read about, or when Taeyong would brush his fingers through Dongyoung’s hair after a particularly rough day of lessons, or when the rays of the disappearing sun illuminated the blush on Taeyong’s cheeks after Dongyoung, in a brief moment of courage, had kissed the lips he had admired for so long; the prince had never wanted to marry anyone but him. Alas, Taeyong was not a prince, and only princes and princesses could take part in the contest. And then, Dongyoung realized his way out.
“There is still one contestant left!” He shouted loud enough for the whole arena to hear, effectively bringing silence upon the location.
“Son,” spoke the king, staring at Dongyoung as if his son had gone mad, “prince Donghyuck was the last royal on the line.”
“Father, the rules of the competition state that the competitors must be a prince or a princess, older than eighteen years of age, from a nation with good ties with Rosatio. I am a prince, today is my twenty-third birthday, and no nation has better ties with Rosatio than Rosatio itself. Therefore, I will be shooting for my own hand!”
The crowd stared in awe as Dongyoung descended his podium, grabbed his bow and arrows and made his way to the front of the target. After positioning himself, he took one last look at Taeyong, whose face was unreadable, and shot his three attempts.
Prince Donghyuck was the first to react. “You won!” He shouted, relief flooding his features as a big smile made its way to his face. Up on the podium, Jeno had the same expression, but Dongyoung missed both joyful smiles. He kept staring at Taeyong, who stared back at him. The crowd cheered, Yuta and Youngho cheered louder; Dongyoung was oblivious. He only snapped out of his daze once his parents approached him, in their hands two rose crowns, the symbol of Rosatian engagements.
“My son,” said the queen, “you have won the competition, and rightfully so; therefore, you have also earned the right to choose your partner. All we ask of you is to remember the future of Rosatio also relies on your choice.”
“Mother dear, I have spent my entire life dedicating myself to this kingdom, and I do not regret it in the slightest; I love my kingdom and I love my people, and I want nothing more than to be a good leader for all of them. All throughout my journey, however, there was someone by my side, keeping not only the interests of Rosatio in their mind and heart, but my interests as well.”
Dongyoung turned himself to look once again at Taeyong, whose expression still had not shifted.
“Taeyong Lee, ever since our childhood, you have taken the roles of my study companion, my best friend and my advisor. Some time along the way, you have taken my heart with you. Would you give me the honor of becoming your husband?”
Upon hearing those words, Taeyong’s cold façade shattered and tears began to roll from his eyes as he nodded vigorously in hopes of conveying everything he felt for Dongyoung in such a simple gesture. The crown prince took the rose crowns from his parents’ hands and made his way over to Taeyong, handing him one of the two artifacts.
“I love you, Taeyongie.” He said, barely loud enough for the other to hear, as he placed the crown he was holding upon Taeyong’s head. “It has always been you.”
“I love you too, Dongyoungie.” It was Taeyong’s turn to place the crown. “My Dongyoungie, for as long as we live.”