The steeple bells chimed 7 am, outvoting the birds' chirp that make its way in the room through an open window.
Even though the steeple was on completely opposite side of the palace from his bedroom, a seven year old boy felt like it was just across his window. No matter how many mornings it had woken him up, he still couldn't get used to it.
Baekhyun groaned while stretching his small body in an oversized bed. Sunlight beams found his eyes and he rubbed them, getting up slowly. He knew that the second the bell stops ringing, he would hear a maid knocking on heavy wooden door, inviting her young master to wake up.
But he would always wake up before that, especially on days when there was something important happening in the palace. His father, the king, often had different diplomats and royals visiting him, who would take their children with them so they could spend time with Baekhyun.
Realizing that day was one of those, when the king and queen from the neighboring kingdom were coming for a three day visit with their children, a son who was same age as Baekhyun and his younger sister, Baekhyun leaped up from his bed in a second, running across his room to open the door for the maid. He pulled the heavy door with his small hands, almost falling back when she pushed the door a little bit to peek in.
"Good morning, young master. Have you slept well?" she asked, coming in with clean laundry in her hands.
"I have." Baekhyun answered politely.
He was already old enough to dress on his own, but he knew that telling that to the maid wouldn't help. It was her job to help him, and no matter what he said, she wouldn't let him be. Besides that, Soyoung had worked in the castle since he was born and her only duty was Baekhyun. He grew to like her as an older sister and he refused to call her a babysitter as she often liked to joke. He even asked her to call him by his name rather than young master, but Sooyoung was very serious with her job.
"Are you excited for today? You will meet a prince and princess of the South." she asked as she buttoned his shirt and put his blazer over it. Baekhyun hated formal clothing he had to wear on those occasions. On ordinary days, he wore normal clothes just like any other child.
"Very." Baekhyun said while staring at his toes, rocking back and forth on his heels.
"Do you think they will like me?"
"Of course! Who wouldn't like you, young master! I hear that the princess is very pretty." she winked, making Baekhyun blush.
He always felt embarrassed whenever she would tease him with girls. He couldn't imagine having a girlfriend one day and having to kiss her on the mouth. Yuck!
"Handsome." Soyoung said after she was done, placing his royal pin on his blazer.
"Go on, don't be late for breakfast." she tapped his back and Baekhyun nodded with a smile, hopping away.
* *
Baekhyun stood by his father's side on a long red carpet in the bottom of the stairs that led to the main palace doors.
The carriage with their guests had just stopped in front if the gates and the servants were helping the royal family to get out.
Baekhyun and his parents waited to meet them, and the little brunet boy was nervous. He was a very lively and outgoing person, but he was always a little bit anxious whether his new friends would like him or not.
The king and the queen walked slowly towards them, followed by a horde of servants and maids. Baekhyun couldn't see the children because of Queen's huge dress, so he leaned to the left to try to catch at least a glimpse of them.
"Junmyeon." Baekhyun's father smiled widely, spreading his arms to give the other king a welcoming hug.
"It's been a while, Taewon." the other man returned the hug sincerely, tapping his back.
Baekhyun used that moment to step forward even though he was restrained from moving to curiously peek behind them.
The first peron that got into his sight was little girl holding a maid's hand. Her black, silky hair was falling in waterfalls over her shoulders. She had pretty blushing face, looking at the floor shyly and fumbling with her bracelet. She was wearing pretty pink dress with imitation of rose petals all over it, and it matched her shy and fragile nature perfectly. The princess seemed like a very gentle child, like she had to be watched over as a drop of water.
As observing as he was, Baekhyun could've stared at her for hours to notice everything there was to notice if his attention wasn't dragged off by someone else. Someone at least a head taller than him, with elf ears and black hair silky just like the girl's. The boy was holding his hands on his back, his head high and his posture royal, just like a prince should look, albeit he didn't look arrogant in any way. He curiously observed the new environment around himself, eyes wide and lips glistening with barely noticeable smile every time he would see something that he liked.
Baekhyun felt ashamed of his own unroyal behavior at that moment, something his parents always warned him about. Head up! Don't twiddle around! Look people in the eyes when they speak to you! Stand still when meeting the guests! Bow!
He knew all those rules but his personality was too restless. It was hard for him to stand still even for a minute. He tried to imitate other prince's posture, and that's when the other decided to look exactly his way.
Two suprised pairs of eyes stared at each other. Like two puppies when they first meet and they seem like the most interesting thing in the world to each other. Both princes found the other as thought-provoking as possible, like that very person was to divulge them all the secrets of the universe. They couldn't find a sane reason why they were affected by each other like that, but at the end, they were boys, and boys always have their odd mindsets that are telepathically connected, having nothing inside but wistful adventures and mischief.
It lasted long enough for both to remember everything on the other's face, but it didn't feel awkward. It was time of examination, letting them understand what the other creature that shared the same social status was like. Baekhyun noticed how warm and friendly the stranger's eyes were, something that he didn't noticed on his little sister. His eyes were the main thing that made the siblings so different in Baekhyun's eyes.
The boy's eyes narrowed then his lips tugged in a smile that said you seem like a safe teritory, and on an instant, driven just by his feeling to do it, Baekhyun smiled back at him.
That was the very first encounter of two boys who were destined to become friends, and Baekhyun already then knew that the boy before him was someone he wanted by his side.
* *
I feel this is gonna be lit
My second Chanbaek fanfic, based of the greatest youtube fanmade video ever!! It's linked so you can watch it, it is really something amazing, pure talent!
