Promise- Minsung

Prologue I

It was a glorious day for the Han Kingdom! The first baby of the royal family had arrived! It was a boy! The new prince was the talk of the kingdom. Everyone was waiting for the reveal of King Han and the Queen's son.

The kingdom was at a time of great stress, and now, there was some relief. However, what most citizens didn't know, was the agreement that had been made.

In the neighboring country, tension was high. There was a royal baby in the Han Kingdom, the sworn enemy of the Lee Kingdom. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, the royal family was having the most trouble. At this time, the king, the eldest son of the late King Lee, was sitting on his throne, his head aching.

"What do you mean, it's a boy?" he asked, shaking his head, the beads on his crown shaking in his face. "We were promised a girl!"

The king's right hand man stood at the foot of the throne. He was a wise old man, who wanted nothing more than to help the young king. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty! I was assured... but-"

"HOW ARE WE TO STOP A WAR, WHEN THEY HAVE A BOY?" King Lee let his rage slip as he shouted loud enough for the servants passing by outside to be spooked.

Advisor Bae bowed his head. "Your Majesty! They will have more children! We can make a new agreement, when a princess is born!"

King Lee shook his head. "No... I don't know if these kingdoms can wait that long. Advisor Bae... what should I do?" he said in a broken voice. "I... I don't know how to fix this!"

Advisor Bae stayed silent for a while. "We... we must wait. There is no way a prince can marry another prince. So, we will... have to wait for a princess!"

King Lee nodded slowly, gaining back his composure. "But, we need... some way to diffuse the tension in our kingdoms... What if we were to send Prince Minho, Prince Min-hyung, Prince Jihoon, and Princess Ji-eun to the Han Kingdom, to greet the new prince. How would that do?"

Advisor Bae thought for a moment, before nodding. "That.... that's not a bad idea, Your Majesty!

King Lee sighed, slumping into the throne. "Good. Make the arrangements now!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

~oOo~

"Hyung! Hyung! Hyungnim! Please, don't make me go!" Four-year-old Prince Lee Minho shook his head in disbelief as he hung onto his older brother's leg.

King Min-hyuk stared down at him with a sigh.

King Minhyuk loved his youngest brother the most, all the princes did. All three did, and their sister too.

While Princess Ji-eun and Prince Jihoon's mother had been the queen, King Minhyuk, Prince Min-hyung, and Prince Minho's mother had been the first to rule. And King Minhyuk had been appointed Crown Prince by his father. This was what the kingdom had wanted, and now, Prince Minho was the crown prince. Everyone wanted it this way, and he was the most loved in the kingdom. All the siblings agreed. However, that did not mean that he was the most mature at this point.

Prince Jihoon picked up his brother and tickled him as he walked towards the horses that stood by the box that Princess Ji-eun would be riding in. "Come on, Minho. You're riding with me right?"

"Right!" the youngest prince declared, his unwillingness forgotten. "I want to ride with Jihoon-hyung!"

"Hey! Aren't you going to say goodbye to your loving older brother?" King Minhyuk smirked as Minho squirmed to look back at his older brother. "Let me down, hyung! Let me down!" Jihoon set Minho back down on the ground, and the little prince ran towards the king.