long live the king - nct, markhyuck

♕ 1 ♕

*10 years later*

the deafening sound of the clashing of steel against steel was all you could hear in the dojo of the royal palace in the kingdom of aes. well, the grunts of two men could also be heard among the clashes, but their intensity was so low compared to the loud clangs made by the swords hitting each other.

"chin up." one of them ordered between heavy breaths, immediately causing the other to readjust his posture and lift his head.

the fight continued, their hits becoming more and more powerful with each second going, both of the men skilfully blocking the deathly hits thrown by their opponent.

and it's only after long minutes of a very intense fight that the sound of metal clashing against metal stopped, being replaced by metal clashing against the lacquered parquet and then by a silence, disturbed by the pants of two strong men.

"i didn't know it was still possible, but you improved a lot, your highness." the older man said, slightly bowing his head in front of the royal.

"it seems so." the royal replied, removing his sword from under the other man's chin and placing it back in its cover that was hanging by his waist.

at the age of nineteen, mark was perhaps one of the best swordsmen the world had ever known. him and his sword truly made one, moving together as if the blade was nothing but a prolongation of mark's body. he handled it like a master.

a few days after his father's death, mark had decided that he would honour his father's words, and actually become one of the greatest swordsmen of the silver age. but for that, he needed an instructor, and now that his father had left this world, he wouldn't be able to teach mark everything he knew about sword-fighting.

so, as the new king of aes – despite the fact that he hadn't been officially crowned and that his mother, the queen, was taking regency until it happened – mark requested for the best sword- fighting teachers to come to aes and teach him.

he improved very fast and changed instructors a few times, making sure he knew different styles and that he aced all of them. and now, after ten long years of relentless training, mark had reached a level of skill he never imagined he would be able to reach one day. but he was very happy of himself, this way, he had kept his father's words. oh, he knew that the king would have been so proud of him if he was still alive...

"let's stop the training here, your highness." the instructor spoke, bending to grab his sword that mark had knocked off his hand. "we already exceeded the time we had set."

"alright." mark nodded, wiping the sweat off his forehead with one of his sleeves. "are you available for another training tomorrow?"

"i'm afraid not, your highness." the instructor bowed all the way down. "i need to go back to the northern kingdom urgently."

"oh... how long will you be gone?" the future king questioned, slightly disappointed.

"for a few months only, your highness." the instructor assured. "the journey is around three weeks long by horse, and i'll be staying a month there."

"mmh." mark hummed, calculating in his head how long he will need to spend without an instructor.

"but if his highness wants me to find a replacement in the meantime from one of the nearby kingdoms, i'd gladly do it." the sword-fighting teacher was quick to add, not wanting to disappoint the future king.