Kittisawat Dynasty and Theerapanyakul Dynasty have been at war for almost ten years. War for power and the throne has been hanging above the two kingdoms like the most vicious storm... However, His Majesty Kimhan has a plan.
"Is Your Majesty sure th...
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Heart thumping. Blood rushing through his veins so fast that it's all that he can hear in his ears. Eyes closed. Hands clasp in silent prayers.
Porchay should be used to this after almost ten years of war. Should feel comfortable in the dark forest road, being carried in the carriage for hours, quietly, noiselessly, and carefully, so that he'll be safely escorted into the Rain Palace. The Rain Palace—one of the few places in his kingdom that are still safe for Porchay. If it still is his kingdom. The war times are unstable. Porchay has been nowhere near the battlefield for days. He hasn't seen anyone from his family for that long either.
Despite turning nineteen today, he is protected like no one else in the kingdom. When he proposed the idea of him joining his brother on the battlefield as an adult man in the kingdom should, he still vividly remembers his brother's anger and the way he looked at him... and the words... the words he said.
"The Crown Prince of the Kittisawat Dynasty. The flower of the Heavenly Garden. And the purest blood of our ancestors cannot step foot on the battlefield and stain his robe with the blood of others! The Crown Prince has to stay safe. The "Crown Prince has to stay untouched!"
So, the flower of the Heavenly Garden, the Crown Prince of the Kittisawat Dynasty, Porchay Kittisawat, is always on the run. Always hiding in front of anyone who bears the blood of the Theerapanyakul Dynasty, anyone who bows their knee in front of them.
All he knows is that he cannot die. He has to survive. No matter what. Even if anything else fails. Even if his brother fails... the Crown Prince of the Kittisawat Dynasty has to survive. The dynasty has to survive.
But even after hiding like this for almost a decade. Porchay is still scared. Still terrified that his one wrong move would light the beginning of the end.
The carriage he is sitting in is small. The kind easier for the soldiers to carry. But it's uncomfortable, and his body aches after sitting in it on hours end. The sun has already gone down, and through the tiny cracks in the wooden body of the carriage, Porchay is catching the flickers of moonlight as they are coming in. But the moon means night. And the night means grave danger.
Porchay holds his breath. He hates being outside during the night. Even when there are soldiers around. Everyone can be killed. Everyone. No matter how many of them swore an oath to protect him.
He counts every step the soldiers take and every bump in the road that makes the carriage in their hands almost topple over. It calms him. As long as he knows that he is moving and everything is as usual...
At first, his ears don't catch it. It's too small and too light to make much noise. But then it gets heavier and more prominent. Just a light thump thump thump right above his head. Something is raining down on the carriage, but it isn't the rain. Porchay knows the sound of rain almost as closely as the sound of his voice when he speaks. This sound is different. It makes his blood run cold.
