Swan Lake (ATEEZ JongSang story)

Chapter 8 - Daydreaming

A/N: I finished the draft of the whole story yesterday, it feels so weird going back to the middle of it now :D

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On the other side of the village, on top of the hill, in one of the castle's towers, Prince Jongho was seated by a table. He was surrounded by papers, notebooks and thick books. He was currently browsing an album about forest wildlife and taking notes. He was supposed to study the kingdom's history for his classes, but he couldn't concentrate and started reading about animals and distant lands instead. His teacher, Namjoon will definitely scold him for it, but for some reason he wasn't interested in how the old kings and queens battled with each other and how these battles resulted in the current state of the kingdom. He knew he should pay attention it and that history is important, but he always found the forest and its animals way more fascinating.

Suddenly there was a big thud outside his room which made the young prince look up. He stood up from his desk and opened the door.

'What are you doing?' he questioned as he recognised his servants and best friends, Huening Kai and Bang Chan trying to move a big box. 'Oh, is this my package?'

'What else?' phewed Chan and sat on top of the box.

'Let me help' Jongho opened up the door to his room. The three of them easily took the heavy box inside. Jongho opened the box. It had a handmade world globe inside. You could see the continents and the oceans on it. It was really pretty and probably expensive.

'What is this?' asked Kai.

'A globe, duh' said Jongho kneeling next to it and started examining the globe.

'Why'd ya need this mate?' said Chan. Jongho looked up at them.

'It's pretty. And there are so many things undiscovered in the world! We can't even imagine! Think about it, we could travel around the world and discover its beauty! I bet it's even more fascinating than in the books' he sighed as he looked back at the globe and turned it around. The globe started spinning. He stopped it with his index finger, pointing right at the forest which was next to the village in the kingdom. 'I know there are wonders out there, waiting to be discovered.'

'It would be cool' said Kai.

'We could go any day. Just prepare the horses and BAMM we're on our way! Everyday new challenges and places to visit.'

'I'm sorry to burst your bubble Prince' said Chan 'but at the moment your main challenge is to find yourself a fiancé on next week's ball.'

Jongho sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

'I know' he whined. 'I don't wanna but I know that I have to as I'm the heir. But I don't get it why Mother suddenly started bothering me with it. She had nothing against me having fun and being adventurous until this time.'

'Menopause' said Kai which resulted in him getting slapped on the nape by Chan. 'Ow! Why'd you do that?!'

'That was rude and disrespectful of you' scolded him Chan. Jongho just chuckled.

'Maybe he is right' he grinned and the three burst out laughing.

'But seriously, do you have eyes on someone? Or at least do you have an ideal type?' asked Chan. Jongho shrugged.

'I don't have a crush nor a preference. I think I'll just know who is the one when I see them.'

'That sounds like a fairy tale. Love at first sight' pondered Chan dreamily.

'Yeah, that doesn't exist' butted in Kai.

'Oh come on, a man can dream' whined Chan. Jongho just smiled and looked out of the window. He couldn't help but dream of distant lands and adventures while the other two were still bickering about love at first sight. He knew, no, he felt deep inside that something magical is waiting for him outside the castle's walls to discover it.