This is Us* Vol 1*

*Tao*

"Huang Zitao report to Princess Al's room immediately!" said Minseok as he pushed open the high entrance doors. "Minseok!" Tao says as he stands frozen unaware of what is happening. Minseok stops and looks to the young knight behind him scared to death, "We are here to protect them!" Minseok say's one more time before he takes off, the sound of his armor & sword clanking against him down the hall. Tao looked left and right, trying really hard to remember where Al's room was. "Think!" he told himself, but the fighting from outside and the screams of the castle being overtaken where blocking his thoughts. Tao finally looked to the right hallway and ran as fast as he could, he came to a sliding halt when he met another set of halls. One left and another right, he remembered when he walked her to her room the night of the masked ball. "Left!" he said out loud and continued his running. When he reached two big white doors with gold and blue trimming. He quickly reached for the door knobs to only find they where locked, "Al! Al!!" he said screaming and pounding on the door, he heard nothing. 

Tao stepped back and bawled his fist as he lifted his right leg and with all the force he had he kicked open the door. The door flew back and slammed into the wall as Tao rushed in and looked around the room, but no Al. "Tao?" questioned a voice and he looked to the right where a knight in red and black stood with Al. His sword pressed against her throat and tears streaming down her face softly. Tao completely turned to them and rested his hand on his sword, "Don't think about it," said the knight who pressed the sword harder into Al's neck a scream escaping her mouth. Tao lifted both his hands and kept them away from any weapons he had on him, "Take whatever it was you wanted, but give me the girl," Tao said as calmly as he could. The knight sniffed and the paranoia was evident in his face, "I'll giver her to you if you help me get out of here!" the knight said and Tao nodded. "Follow me and don't hurt her or else the deal is off!" Tao says and begins to slowly walk out of the room and back the way he came.

Tao took the knight through the entire castle until they reached the study and stood in front of a book case with maps. "This doesn't look like a exit?!" the knight said and Tao looked back to make sure Al wasn't hurt, "It's here! There's a secret lever! Us Knights use it!" he says and his shaky hand reaches for a dark navy blue book and pulls it lightly causing the book case to pop open, Tao went to the left side and began pushing it and soon a tunnel was shown. "Now let her go!" Tao says as he wipes the sweat off his forehead and makes intense eye contact with the rival knight in front of him. The knight pushed Al into Tao's arms and immediately darts for the tunnel. "Let's get out of here!" Tao tells Al but she throws her arms around him and he embraces her tightly too. "We have to leave!" Tao says again and takes her soft hand and pulls her with him to the back entrance of the castle where some knights would enter the castle from. 

"Where is Victoria?!" Al said as Tao and her came to a stop outside of the castle, both panting, "Minseok went looking for her," he says and then takes her warm hand into his again and takes her to a horse barn. "I am not leaving if I don't know if she is ok!" she says and stops when they reach the outside of the barn, Tao stops pushing the barn door open and looks around and then grabs Al into his arms again. "She will be ok! I am your Knight! Your life is in my hands!" he tells her and runs his hand down her smooth cheek. He turns back and finally gets the door open but is met with rival knights waiting for him and Al. 

Tao turns around and grabs Al and tries running to the entrance doors but more rival knights step out. "Stay behind me!" Tao tells Al and she clutches onto his armor her face buried in his back. 

"Huang Zitao, knight of the Kingdom to the North. Is that Princess Al?" says a knight in charge making his way to Tao who remains silent. The knight smirks and snaps his fingers and the others  all raise their bows and arrows, aiming at Knight Tao and his secret love Princess Al. "You have nothing with her! She gave up her title," he says and the knight chuckles, "She is still of royal blood! You think we care if she was to give up her title for a scum like you!" he finishes and Tao tries to keep his composure. "She can be sold for a lot," he says and tries walking around to take a look at the girl but Tao keeps blocking his view. "I would rather die then give her over," Tao says sternly and pulls his sword out lifting it out to the knight in charge. "How dare you test the authority of a knight in charge!" the knight says and walks back slowly, "Kill them both," he orders the others. 

Tao drops his sword and spins around holding Al for the last time, "I love you," he says and she softly sobs into his chest. Suddenly Tao is ripped away from her and so is she, the knights force Tao onto his knees and remove his body armor throwing it onto the floor in front of him. The soldiers also force Al onto her knees and harshly remove the pendent in her hair. Her blondish brown hair falling down, she looks to Tao who looks at her with a smile and she returns one and then they both look straight. 

"Ready!" screams a knight and all the knights raise their bows and arrows again. 

"Set!" he screams again and the knights pull their arrows back locking onto either Tao or Al. 

"Fire!!" he screams finally and the arrows penetrate the couple. The first to fall was Al and then Tao, Al died immediately as she made contact with the floor. Tao though, gasping for his last breath and coughing up the blood clogging his air ways reaches out to Al. The knights watch as he dies slowly, a tear escapes his eyes as his dream of raising a family with Al vanish and the reality that he couldn't give Al the one thing she had so desperately wanted sink in. He places his hand on top of hers and closes his eyes, his life fading away. 

1 year and 2 months prior:

"I'm giving up my title," Al said as Tao removed his armor and hung it up. "You can't do that," he tells her and looks to her, she takes her hood off as well as the cloak she had came in. "I don't want to live her anymore! I want to be with you!" she says and walks over to Tao and focuses his attention on her, "I love you! I don't want to die here!" she tells him and he places a hand in her hair. "I can't promise you land nor a kingdom nor wealth," he tells her and she smiles, "I just want you to promise me that you will always love me, and that you will be my husband and the father to our children," she says and wraps her arms around him as he tightens his arms around her. "I'll give up my title before I turn 20 and then we can live out in the country," she tells him and he nods and they step back. "Minseok and the others will help us, I have been a loyal knight since I was 16," he tells her and she smiles wide. "I love you Tao," she tells him and smiles, Tao runs his thumb across her cheek, "I love you Al," he tells her. 

Victoria drops onto her knees in front of Al and Tao's dead bodies. She weeps and covers her face with her hands, Minseok drops next to her unable to comfort her as he takes in the sight of the young man he had raised now dead in front of him. "She loved him," Victoria says and removes the pendent from her hair, her auburn hair falling, and places the pendent in Al's. "He loved her as well," Minseok says as he remembers all the nights he had advised Tao to stay away but of course the younger never listened. Minseok stands up and picks up the sword that had Tao's initials engraved into it, a process that happened to Knights when they reached Entrance Level that allowed them in and out of the castle. Victoria brushed hair out of Al's face her completion to beautiful to be covered, Minseok looked at her and took her hand and both rushed away. Victoria took one last glance at the couple that was nicknamed The Puppies because of their young love. 

~~~

Princess Al and Knight Tao would have lived in the country side, and would have had a son and daughter had it not been that fateful evening when the battle of South and North ended their lives so short.

Tao's initials weren't the only ones on his sword, but a simple T and A that represented Tao and Al. 

The pendent in Al's hair that was removed was the very first gift Tao had given her when she turned 19. She had not stopped wearing it till it was removed from her hair that evening, it too had a T and A engraved into it.