going above duties
w/ h.c
g/ royal!au, friendship, mild angst
w.count/ 600
a.n/ my favourite so far. i have to look up so many flowers for this just for it to end up in one line. enjoy~
t.w/ none
Chan vividly recalled the day of his Initiation. He was the last to complete the new generation of the Kingsguard Circle. That was almost thirteen years ago. His knighthood years weren’t easy, he was three years behind the rest of the batch. A late bloomer they called him. He endured it, endured some more and let it fuel him to keep his sword up. He didn’t get the Head Kingsguard title and it was alright, it wasn’t his goal. His goal was to survive and make it to the Circle. Chan was honouring the last wish of his brother, the fever took him away before he had the chance to step foot into the castle.
What Chan didn’t expect was for the doe-eyed Crown Prince to take a liking to him. Fifteen-year-old Chan found the Prince crying beside the armoury and the little fists curling into his tunic stirred the protective instinct deep inside him. That day Chan didn’t care if he was punished for being late to his training. He held the Prince in his arms and climbed the stairs to the castle, painstakingly one step at a time. The deviant streak in him almost lost him his rank but the son of the Royal Advisor let him in. He couldn’t forget the wails from the young Prince when the maids tried to pry the child away. Even the Queen was at a loss until Chan decided to lose all etiquettes and sat on the ground, rocking the boy whilst humming a lullaby his brother used to sing to him. The Prince soundlessly fell asleep in his arms. Four years later he was knighted with the second-highest honour in the Kingsguard Circle.
Being the Crown Prince’s Knight meant protecting and serving him until Chan took his last breath. It was obvious, of course, he wasn’t supposed to build anything but a professional relationship yet here he was, sitting on the floor with his back against the foot of the bed. The Prince curled up between his legs, sobbing into his chest and Chan was rocking him back and forth. Déjà vu. The lonely Alician Crown was left hanging on the throne, the gems didn’t sparkle as brightly anymore, the hollowness ripped through everything and everyone. He felt tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. Blinking them away was futile, they treacherously tracked down his cheeks. Chan drew the Prince closer and hid his face in the younger’s hair, not trusting himself to speak without giving away his dishevelled state.
All track of time was lost since Chan sat down, the dull aches in his back and shoulders started to give him discomfort but the Crown Prince had settled down to occasional sniffles. “Your Highness? Subin?” The Prince only nuzzled deeper as Chan carded his fingers through the silver locks tickling his jaw. He hummed the same lullaby from ten years ago. “I’m not a child anymore, Chan,” Subin mumbled yet didn’t tell him to stop. Within a few moments, he was gone to the clutches of dreams.
It was above his duties. It wasn’t in the list of his tasks to comfort the Crown Prince, tucking him to bed was certainly not mentioned anywhere. Chan knew his interpretation of ‘to protect and to serve’ was skewed but what could he do, it was the same way his brother taught him. The gladiolus flowers decorating the windowsill were in full bloom. Family, blood or chosen, never stray far from him.
His fellow knights clasped his shoulder with the words, “Kind Sir.”
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