Twins

Prologue

Smoke poured out through the windows and into her lungs as she ran through the palace halls. It stung her eyes. The queen ran quickly, one precious son held in her arms, the other held in the arms of her nurse. They were only three months old, the two boys she wanted to protect most in this world. She had thought the peace of their childhood would have lasted longer than that.

"Hurry!" She cried to the nurse behind her as the wooden beams above them began to crack. The queen rushed past just in time, the beam caught the hem of her dress as it fell. She tore the fabric away.  On the other side of the hallway, with flames creeping ever closer, the nurses wide brown eyes were filled with fear.

"Majesty!" She looked around her in a panic. She had to find a way to get this child to safety.

"My lady!" A deeper voice rang through the hall, and in the dancing shadow and ashes a figure stepped into view. His black clothes were torn, his sword was hanging limply at his side. He was the head of the royal guard. His eyes, once so alive with determination, looked defeated as he gazed at the nurse across the way from him.

"You have to get my son! My son!" The queen held tightly to the smaller boy in her arms. He had been the weaker of the two since birth and she feared what all this smoke was doing to him. The guard nodded and reached out, heedless of the flames that were scorching his arms.

"I will get you too, Hye Soo." He said to the nurse as he took the crying child from her arms. She said nothing in reply. She only looked at him with a relieved smile, knowing now that both the little princes had a chance to live. The danger was not over, but she felt much of it had already passed.

The ceiling above buckled and the wood began to splinter. Hye Soo barely had a moment to look up before the beams collapsed on top of her. The central guard screamed out and would have jumped into the flames had it not been for the child still crying in his arms.

"We have to get out of here." The queen rushed on ahead. She broke past the sliding doors and out under the stars. The air outside was icy compared to the inferno she had been facing. Behind her the guard stepped outside as well.

"Wait." He held up his free hand and looked around them. The crackling burning noises were being intermixed with the sound of horses hooves. Panic filled the queens expression. They were coming for the crown princes. In seconds she thought of the only plan she believed to ensure the survival of her kingdom.

"Take him into the wild, escape from here and hide his identity until things are safe. I will keep the elder one with me, perhaps one of their lives might be saved."

"Yes, your Majesty." Without hesitating he followed his queen's command. Hye Soo had died serving the kingdom, he would serve to the best of his abilities. He ran through the courtyard and out a back entrance beside the river.

One of you must survive, my sons.

The sound of approaching hooves once again caught her attention. If it wasn't for the panic that filled her heart she might have felt tiredness in her arms and legs.

She looked around the courtyard. There was only one more way out of the courtyard and that was the main entrance. It wasn't the safest way but she hoped that if she ran fast enough she could make it out and far enough away from the palace to be safe. But before she even had the chance to run towards it the hefty body of a horse bolted into the courtyard.

The rider wore a mask to conceal his identity. His black hair reached his back, it was tangled and some of it was wet with blood. He looked wild, as though he was raised in the woods. She didn't have time to think before he reached her.

He leaned over and firmly grabbed her by the arm. She held onto the child tightly as he pulled her onto his horse. His strength surprised her, there was only one man she had known who could lift her as though she weighed as light as a feather.

"K-king Sukwon?" Did he come back to save her? She glanced back at the woods.

Could he have saved him two?

"Shh," He whispered. "You shall be safe now."

His words comforted her. It was strange to her how the king she knew now looked like a wild thief. She looked up at his face as they left the burning palace behind. Most of his face was hidden by the mask he wore and by the blood from the cut that now covered the left side of it.

The baby in her arms had now stopped it's crying and was fast asleep, and now her eyes also grew heavy. And in the kings arms she felt it safe enough to sleep.