Chapter Text
It is a mother's duty to protect her child.
She swung the blade against the cold metal of their armour, cutting deep into their skin as her other arm was over her son. No matter the cost of her own life, he came first.
She yelled out and cut another one down, the attacker fell to the ground, her long black hair falling gently behind her back.
And she would do anything.
"Minho...I love you" she mumbled and turned back to see a little boy, crying and holding his mom's dress. No child should have to witness this.
Anything.
She felt a blade enter her stomach, slowly going all the way to the back of the wall behind her. Before the blood came out, she gave a last hit and killed the guard that had targeted her. Once he was dead, she fell to the ground and the echoing sound of the sword echoed on the walls of the castle.
"Mommy..?" The little boy cried, holding her body, her soft black hair on the ground, drenched in blood.
He cried as the crimson colour went all over his hands. He was alone, with about fifteen dead bodies around him. He was too young to understand it but...
This was when his whole life would change.
"Mommy!" He yelled and the crows that had come through the windows had flew away from the digested corpses.
All but one.
A crow was looking over his own dead mother, pecking her to see if she would respond, just like Minho was.
But her breath in the air faded until he couldn't hear her heart beat anymore.
She was dead.
The little baby crow then walked towards the only other living being in the room and snuggled up against him like he would to his mother.
In this cruel world, death was common, it drowned their kingdoms in blood.
A little boy crying over his loss mother on the floor of his own bedroom, how did it come to this..?
Well it's quite simple.
War.
Between kingdoms who wanted the other dead, but so many suffered for the actions of the high ones, the rulers.
He heard footsteps marching up the chamber, then his father stopped in his tracks when he saw the sight in front of him.
The King Oden of the crow's lands, his father.
He ran to them and took Minho in his arms.
"It's okay.you're alright" he cried himself, holding the boy close to his chest, blood all over his armour.
"Their Will come a time where you will be king after me..." he patted his hair, his crown was the colour of crimson because of the blood he had been obliged to drown in.
"And you will understand...one day..." Minho cried even more when he looked back at his lifeless mother on the floor, hiding in his fathers fur with the bird in his hands, trembling as much as he was.
"Papa…it's cold. It's really cold" his whole body was freezing like the lands outside, it felt dead and numb.
His father looked at him and cupped his cheeks, they were in fact freezing.
Guards walked in the room and widened their eyes at the scene.
"Sir, the infiltrators have all been eliminated.."
"Good..." he got up like it was nothing and Minho stayed on the floor, his skin felt like ice sticking to the ground and melting into it.
His father glanced back at him but kept walking.
"Send troupes to the nearby villages, any treason is punishable by murder. Prepare the horse, we're heading to the city of the sun immediately." He commanded and everything was followed by the letter, as it always was.
Minho put the bird on his shoulder and hid it in his warm coat.
"What about the prince?" A soldier asked.
He paused before turning around again and handing Minho a set of knife, the two blades having the reflexion of the blood on the floor in them. He took the heavy blades and looked at them confused.
"I will be gone away for a few weeks, stay here and train...futur king" he said and patted his hair, Minho staying on the ground with two weapons in his hands. He gripped the handles and looked at the dead soldiers on the ground.
"King...?" He looked at his reflection.
A broken boy with a predictable futur.
Even if he was 6 years old, he knew what would come for him, what his tasks would be.
With all the strength he had left he stood up with a knife in each hand and the crow stood on his shoulder calmly. He saw the body of his mother being carried out under a white sheet.
"I want to make a world where nobody gets hurt...I want to make a safe place..." he vowed, the cold wind blowing on his raven-haired strands and his big brown eyes reflecting the snow in the horizon.
He still had soft tears in his eyes, complete trauma installing itself inside of him, the adrenaline was the only thing keeping him sane.
The very next day he was already on the training grounds, swinging a sword against the wood of the dummy he would practice on. He swung it out it was too heavy for his small body and he kept falling over.
He groaned and was about to cry when he teacher handed him the knives.
"Use these." He said and Minho picked them up.
He was faster, better. The accuracy hit with every strike. Left. Right. He didn't miss.
His new crow friend was watching him train, eating off some bread Minho had found for him.
"Again." His teacher spoke, adjusting his feet so he'd be in the right position.
Minho gave it all he had, his small hits digging the knife into the wood.
"Again." He repeated.
He hit with all his might, beating onto it with all his rage, all the rage a child could come up with.
"Again."
14 years later.
Minho took a swing at the wooden object and effortlessly cut it in half, sweat dripping down his back and he managed to still have this cold feeling in his chest. It fell to the ground and his teacher walked over to him with his cane, barely holding up anymore.
"You have come a long way Minho..." His crow cheered for him and came to his shoulder, so Minho fed him a piece of meat he always carried on him. "Do you think I'm ready?"
"Ready for what my boy?" He raised his white brow.
"To be King...am I ready?"
"I cannot answer, only you can find that on your own. Being king isn't only about sword fights, it's about so much more"
"I've done my lessons, I know every tactic of war by heart, I've studied the fields and maps of this region over and over again..."
"And..?"
"I dont...feel ready."
His teacher nodded and laid back against his seat.
"You will make a great leader... never lose track of your faithfulness dear boy"
Minho was youthful and had grown to be tall with well built shoulders, his eyes always focused on every detail around him, he was strong that was sure, both physically and mentally. "Thank you master" he bowed and put away his sword to walk away.
"Where are you going?"
"The gardens" he replied quickly before running off into the palace. It was empty most of the time, lonely. Barely even a muttered voice could be heard in this forgotten part of the castle. Minho made his way to the garden, snow covered everything. They were the house of crows, known for their tactics and maneuvers, known a for their freezing lands in the north.
This was why Minho was always clothed in laced up clothes that required a lot of time to attach. The inside was made of fur to add to it, it was black with silver details on the sleeves and in the front. He walked past the blue flowers that magically grew from the snow, from sky blue to a marine blue, it was beautiful.
He stopped in front of his mother's stone and leaned on it, smiling. "I don't think I'm ready mom..." he groaned and leaned his forehead on it as well while his bird flew above them, scanning the place. "This doesn't feel right."
His crow started to shout, which meant someone was coming. He turned to see his father walking with purpose, this same smile plastered on his face.
"Son we have great news." The king said, he wasn't accompanied by his usual staff which made Minho take a step back."What is it?"
"I have forged an alliance between our kingdom and the land of the sun."
"That's...incredible, but I what are the terms for this.?"
"You're learning fast son. We'll be heading there soon to meet the royal family and sign all the papers for the alliance. You are to come with me"
He never brought him anywhere, in fact he had barely ever left the lands he grew up in. Minho knew every inch of the castle by heart, every part of the gardens.
"I can come to the land of the sun with you?"
"Of course, after all, you need to meet your future bride..." he left out and Minho frowned.
"Father...what do you mean?"
"For our kingdoms to merge their needs to be a marriage with our heirs, you will marry the princess of the lands of sun."
"I'm getting married..." he whispered. "We leave tomorrow." He decided and Minho blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Tomorrow..." he muttered.
"The marriage is in two weeks from now. Then you will officially be the heir to the throne my son." He seemed proud and the young man was lost.
In two weeks he'd be married to a woman he had never even met, let alone heard of. He would spend the rest of his life with her, make love to her and have children conceived by her. He knew that day would come, but he never expected it to be so soon.
"You make me proud son. I'm sure your mother would be as well" he spoke calmly before leaving, placing the silver crown he had on his head.
He sighed and looked back at the carved stone in front of him now, the crow landing on it and giving a concerned look at Minho.
"Lords help me..."