AN: So, this is my first story I've posted on here. The idea has been in my mind for quite a while, and I finally got around to writing it! Be sure to let me know what you think, and what I can do better! On to the action!

Chapter 1 - The Lost Prince

"Alright men! Just like last time! Search for the lost prince!"

Blaine shouted for victory along with the other knights, as the twenty guards scattered into different areas of the forests that surrounded the kingdom. Aided only by his Labrador retriever, Rafael, he made his way into the enchanted forest.

The particular forest was inhabited by elves, which occasionally came into the kingdom, supplying the kingdom with many of the items that made it so well known throughout Ardor. King Burt and Queen Piper had made a treaty with the elves the year that the prince was to be born.

Queen Piper had grown extremely ill in her carrying of the prince, and King Burt went to the elves for assistance. The elves provided the herbs to make her well again, and advised her not to attempt another conception after the prince was born. The two members of the royal house were so thankful that they formed a treaty with the elves. The elves would supply the kingdom with some rarities, and the kingdom would provide protection to the elven village.

However, the night before the prince was to turn one year old, he went missing. The royal couple had allowed the king's brother and sister to watch the boy, bringing him into the town for a small trip.
All the couple knows is that the king's sister was killed, and his son and brother were both taken.

Three years after that incident, the body of the king's brother arrived in courtyard of the palace, along with a message claiming that the captor was raising his son. From that moment on, the king had rotations of guards out searching for the boy, in all of the areas that were under allied rule.

Not long after the note was received, the kingdom of Laetitia had war declared upon it. The adjacent kingdom of Sono had once been allied with Laetitia, but the ruthless leaders, known as the Hudsons, demanded the hand of the prince to marry their daughter. Had the marriage been done, the two kingdoms would have ruled the entire region.

The Hudsons were known for their dirty tricks among war. The king and queen, Chris and Carol, had overthrown dozens of other kingdoms under their rule, assassinating more royalty than the citizens believed to be possible.

Burt and Piper Hummel believed that the Hudsons were responsible for the kidnapping of their only son. The Hudsons denied the claim, but shortly after, declared war anyways. Blaine's father passed away fighting in that war, though he was regarded as a hero for plunging his sword through the heart of King Chris Hudson shortly before his demise.

Blaine wasn't so lucky.

Of all the knights in the kingdom of Laetitia, Blaine was the least strong. In both combat, and his love life. For a nineteen year-old man, Blaine had very little game. Other than being known as his father's son, Blaine was rather useless.

Some other knights, such as Sir Noah, or Sir Samuel, were both stronger and more attractive. Neither of the two knights had settled down with a woman, so all the women in the kingdom swooned in their direction, hoping to tie the knot with the king's two most valued knights.

What made things just a bit worse, is that the other knights made fun of Blaine.

Blaine, in all his life, was sheltered, and was unable to prove himself to anyone. The other knights made sure to mock him for it. Sir Samuel was the worst of them to him.

Blaine had announced himself gay two years prior to the current search. The other knights used this as more fuel, remarking about his preference for dick, or jeering at him when he was injured and limped slightly.

But Blaine was determined to redeem himself. If not for his hero of a father, than for himself. He was determined to find the prince.

The king had called each of the knights into a large purple tent, as he did before sending them all out on their searches. Inside the tent, sat Shelby, who was widely known as the most capable sight-seer to ever grace the region.

Although her gifts were remarkable, she was unable to determine the exact location of the lost prince, but she was able to see his appearance, and draw out a picture for the knights to use as a reference.
Shelby also helped in keeping the king and queen assured that their lost son was indeed alive.

After the knights had seen the general picture of the prince, and knew the general background, which Shelby claimed was full of trees, and a large river further back, the knights each left the tent and headed toward the entry of the forest.

Blaine wandered through the forest, with a faint remembrance of the prince's features before he could make out what looked like a hut a short distance ahead of him. Surprised, he looked down to Rafael who was wagging his tail in anticipation.

Approaching the hut, Blaine could see that it was not inhabited in quite a while. The doors were shackled shut, and the roof appeared to be rotting. All the grass around the building was yellow, and there was a faint odour that Blaine could determine was rotting flesh.

Using what strength he had, Blaine broke the shackles with his sword and peered inside the shack.

It was dark.

Blaine squinted into the darkness, and he could see that the hut was completely empty, save for the rotting corpse of a deer, which had a small knife jammed into its neck.

Hearing a creaking noise from behind him, Blaine turned around to see Rafael lying down on the ground. Frowning a bit, he shut the door of the hut and continued to search.

After a few more hours of searching, Blaine came across a river. Determining it to be the river that Shelby described, Blaine began to search a bit closer. Hearing a faint moaning from behind him, he quickly snapped his head in the direction, hoping to find the prince.

It wasn't the prince.

In fact, it was Sir Arthur, or Artie as most of the knights called him. Similar to the deer from the hut, Artie had a few small knives embedded into his skin. Although, the knives in Artie were sticking out from his waist-area downward, and Artie was gripping at the handles, attempting to pull them out.

Blaine rushed over to help, assisting Artie with his pulling. The knives wouldn't budge, and Artie made eye contact with Blaine.

"I think this is the place." Artie said, rushed, before coughing a bit, blood falling from his mouth.

Blaine called over to Rafael, who ran over to him, nosing at his hand.
"Hey," Blaine spoke to the dog, "run back to the kingdom and let them know Artie is hurt. Can you do that, pal?"
The dog woofed, before taking off in the other direction.

"Keep looking," Artie grumbled, "I know he's here."
"I'm not just leaving you here to bleed out, Artie, you're the closest thing I have to a friend after Raff."
"He's here, you idiot," Artie coughed, "he did this."

Blaine looked into Artie's eyes, before nodding and standing again. Heading toward the river, checking over his shoulder to Artie, who was obviously still sitting in the same spot, Blaine bumped into something.

Something fleshy.

The last thing he felt before he made eye contact was a hand on his wrist, gripping incredibly tight. The thing gripping his wrist looked familiar.

It had brown hair, glimmering wonderfully in the faint light of the forest, and the most stunning eyes Blaine had ever seen. Were they green, blue, or gray? Blaine couldn't tell. The grip on his wrist lessened slightly when the figure seemed to notice Blaine wasn't fighting back.

Finally clicking into his mind, Blaine was able to determine the identity of his human-wall.

This was the prince.