Chapter 4: Baby Prince

With eyes closed, being held close to his mother's breast as he fed, the new Prince of Kouka was swaddled in a warm blue blanket. His father's dark visage shone with pride even as his mother looked at him weakly. His eyes would one day match his mothers as the peach fuzz on the top of his head would slowly darken to the color of sand. "Su-won, because he is the first to be born." he could hear his father say, but really didn't understand the words. All he cared for was the warmth his mother gave him.

He liked being held, something the week old child had decided on his own. Being held made him feel safe and loved. He could tell who was holding him too. His mother brought a scent of flowers with her, even though the newborn hadn't ever seen flowers. When she held him, he knew that his next meal was soon coming. His father held him too tightly, like the man was afraid of dropping him. This made Su-won give off whines at the too tight hold that his father had; which usually resulted in a reprimand from his mother. The scent of peaches was his aunts scent and the scent of something sweet and a very gentle hold was his uncle. His grandfather held him once, but that left him crying hard. The old man had a ruff touch and Su-won hadn't liked it. Servants had many scents, but they held him too gently, like they thought he was going to break. In all, he liked his mother's hold the best.

Holding his head up on his own at two months was a fine accomplishment. He could now look at the people around him without too much difficulty. He still couldn't understand their words, but the faces now had meaning behind them. His mother had brown eyes and with light hair coloring. Her skin was pale and her lips were painted red, but she smelt like home, warmth and food. His father had dark eyes with nearly black hair. His skin was tanned, he was loud and boisterous. He made Su-won feel safe. Uncle looked like his father only, plump and short and he still smelt like sweets and food, but not the food his mother had. Aunt had gentle violet eyes that reminded him of the color of his favorite blanket that his mother wrapped him in at night. She had light colored hair and was pale like his mother. She didn't smell like food, though the sweet peach scent said otherwise.

Laying on his belly under a thick leafed tree, Su-won was on the blanket that covered the ground. Both of his parents watched him as he struggled to push himself up onto his hands and knees. He grunted and flailed his arms and legs; which gained laughter from his father.

"You can do this boy!" His father yelled with pride in his eyes.

Su-won couldn't help but believe his fathers words, but try as he might, he couldn't do it! He was about to let loose a cry of frustration when he was helped by his mother. She held him up and showed him how to do it right, but as soon as she let go he was once again on his belly flailing his limbs about.

Several days, maybe even a week or two after his first try at crawling, Su-won was easily crawling on his hands and knees around the family manor. His home had literally been turned into his playground as he went from room to room with servants chasing him every moment. He would giggle at their silliness. He had places to go, he couldn't stay in the penned up room they kept putting him in!

N.A.P.

He wasn't sure what that spelled, but at eight months, he hated that word. It was as bad as nap. People said both of those words whenever they were about to put him to bed in his room. He hated it! He wanted to explore!

Of course that wasn't the only word he hated. He hated greens too. With that word came a green pile of mush that was shoved into his mouth. He could no longer nurse because that's not what big boys did. He wanted to be held to his mothers chest and held as he ate. Another thing he hated was the scratchy outfits that the auburn haired servant dressed him in. They itched and he couldn't ever get it scratched right. This would mean a full day of screaming and tantrums. Pouting was often a useful tool during these times and he'd use the full arsenal; which usually worked too.

"Say Papa." his father said while holding him. Su-won blinked at him in confusion before smiling with glee. He reach other at his fathers face, only to be thwarted by his father. "No." he would be reprimanded. "Say Papa. Pa-pa."

Giggles from behind him caused Su-won to giggle as his mother laughter at her husbands antics. A young servant was helping her walk down the curved stairway that led to the downstairs where he and his father were playing with his wooden toys. He heard his father give a deep sigh in defeat. His mother said something that made his father frown before he stood up and walked over to her. Su-won watched as his father pulled his mother into his arms and kiss her lips before saying something in a rough tone and leaving.

Standing on his unsteady legs, Su-won, who'd been walking for a couple months, ran after his father when he was grabbed by a servant and prevented from following. Su-won screamed as he was picked up and brought back over to his toys. "PPPPA!" he screamed.

He saw his father freeze in his steps as he was about to grasp the door to leave. Turning on his heel he bent down to Su-won. "Say it boy, I know you can!" he grinned.

"PPPPA! Pa!" Su-won yelled with enthusiasm. "Papa! Papa!" He was suddenly picked up and tossed into the air before being caught. He gave a scream of fright as his father laughed with joy.

"That's my boy!" his father laughed heartily as he bounced Su-won in his arms.

Shortly after Su-won's third birthday there was a ruckus occurring at his grandfather's home in Kuuto. A baby had been born to his uncle and aunt. A little girl.

Being held by his father, he was lifted in order to look into the crib. A red haired baby girl laid there. Her cheeks puffy and pink. Her hair red as the dawn of morning. Su-won was entranced instantly. She was beautiful. "Doesn't look that special." he heard his father say. Turning his head he frowned at his fathers words.

"She's pretty." he defended the newborn baby.

"Tch." was all his father said on the subject. He was acting bitter, but why? Su-won's couldn't understand his own father sometimes. He was suddenly placed on the floor and pulled away from the crib as Yu-hon left the room with him. A few days afterwards Su-won heard that his father had killed some of the priests and chased the rest away from the palace. "The Kami doesn't believe in us. Why should we believe in them? They don't exist." was his father's words on that subject. Afterwards it was never spoken about amongst their family.

When Su-won was five he met the grandson of the wind, Son Hak. The young boy was a year younger than himself. He met him after Yona had proclaimed that Hak was hers. After playing with the boy for an entire afternoon, Su-won wanted him as his friend too.

After the Queen's death Yona began to cling to him. He understood why. He had made himself her mother's replacement. Yona didn't sleep well, so he slept next to her at night and held her hand. Upon revealing this detail to Hak, the dark haired boy was a bit shocked, though he did make a joke about it.

Then something new occurred, Su-won got a bodyguard, Han Ju-doh. The man had a scar on his right cheek from a battle he had fought in. He was a duelist, meaning he fought with two sword instead of one. He also became one of Su-won's teachers in the art of swordsmanship. Learning the sword from a young age ensured that Su-won would never be taken advantage of when it came to a true fight, it was a skill he his very well.

Then came word when he was ten that his father was killed in a training accident. That did not make sense to him. This was also the moment that King Il swore to never touch a weapon again and even went out of his way to ensure that Kouka never entered war. It was after this moment that Su-won began hearing rumors that the King, his uncle, had actually been the one to kill his father. After that moment he began to pay people to bring him information about this, his greatest ally being the information broker Ogi.

It was after the tournament when Hak gained the title of Rajiu that Su-won knew Yona would be well taken care of by the younger man. Neither knew of his plans to King Il one day and he kept it that way. He had enough evidence to prove the King was his fathers murderer, but now he was traveling and seeing the troubles that King Il was causing with his policies. Staying away from the palace was hard, harder than leaving. He loved his cousin. He loved Hak. He wanted things to remain the same where they were all happy and were friends, but he knew a day was coming when all that would end. He just hoped Yona didn't find out too soon.

The night of Yona's sixteenth birthday was too good to be true. Most of the party goers were too drunk to be awakened by anything. Yona rarely visited her fathers chambers at night and Hak had been given a drink laced with a sleeping agent in it. The only thing he had to worry about was the unsuspected. He did talk to Il that night before he killed him. Il truly believed his daughter to be the reincarnation of Hiryuu. It was crazy! He did everything to ensure Yona grew up happy while everyone else suffered. As he plunged his father's sword into his uncle's stomach, lighting stuck and behind Il he saw red hair; Yona.

Things never go as planned. It was suppose to be simple and clean, but it ended with Hak fleeing with Yona. A part of him cried at having driven his innocent cousin out of her home and out into the crewel world. Another part wished she had never seen that side of him, but fate was not kind as it turned out. When Kan Tae-jun arrived for his coronation ceremony and handed him the lock of Yona's hair with the tale of what had happened to her; Su-won wanted to die in that moment. Having taken a breath to clear his thoughts, Su-won went on. It was all he could now. Whatever the future brought with it, he knew that it would be by his hands.

M-Angel: Did you know that Su-won (Soo-won) means first, original as the first definition and as the second it means disappear? So, for this my reasoning as to why Yu-hon called him Su-won was because he was the First son to be born. It could be that he was hoping for more children but then his wife got sick. Then he died and Su-won was left as an only child. Just my thoughts on this. I hope everybody enjoyed the chapter.