The Island Prince (Seventeen VerKwan story)

Chapter 11 - Tea

A/N: I really want to update this book as frequently as I used to do with the others, mainly because I'm working on another idea (which is a request again, wow!) and also because October is near and as you might know I'm also kind of an artist and with October there come a shit ton of art challenges and I won't be able to keep up with everything -.-" I'm doing my best here.

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It was the next morning. Kwan was walking in the greenhouse, watering some of the exotic flowers. The greenhouse reminded him of his island and for a moment he felt homesick.

'You alright?' asked Dino, sitting down next to him on a tree branch.

'I'm just thinking' sighed Kwan. 'I know that I have a family somewhere, but how am I going to find them? I don't even know where to start.'

Suddenly the glass door of the greenhouse opened. Kwan looked up and felt his heartbeat increase. It was Hansol entering. He cut his hair shorter (this was most likely his usual hairstyle, he thought, since everyone kept mentioning how the prince's hair had grown) and was now wearing a bit more formal outfit. He always managed to look breathtaking.

'Kwan! Hey! Good to see you found yourself a place' chuckled the prince. Kwan smiled as he walked up to the other boy. Hansol bit his lip. 'I was thinking that my parents should get to know you a bit more. Yesterday was quite a chaos. Please, join us for tea!' he held out a hand.

'Tea?' asked Kwan unsure, but decided to follow the prince nonetheless.

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So there they were, sitting around a round table under a gazebo in the garden. It was away from the other parts of the garden so no one really bothered them. The view at the ocean was beautiful and the air had a fresh salty smell because of the water. Kwan thought about the island again, but he quickly snapped out of it and tried to focus on what was happening.

With the help of Hansol and Seokmin he got changed into some simple shirt and pants. It felt weird after his self-made clothes, but he had to admit, the new clothes were surprisingly comfortable. The fabric they were made of was soft and it felt like if the clothes were made just for him.

Now he was sitting next to the round table. On his left sat Hansol and his parents with Koya next to the queen, and on his right sat Princess Lia and Queen Ariana.

'This whole castle is like if it was from a fairytale!' said excitedly Queen Ariana. 'Everything is exactly like... how I would imagine!'

'Make yourself at home' said Hansol's mother kindly.

'Oh, thank you, don't worry about that!' chuckled the other queen. Kwan felt the urge to roll his eyes. He could feel that something is definitely wrong with this woman, but he wasn't sure what.

'Did I mention how wonderfully my daughter plays the piano?' she continued. 'She started learning as soon as she could sit!'

'Mom' whispered Lia embarrassed.

Meanwhile a waiter was walking around the table, pouring some steaming liquid into everyone's cups. Kwan stared at his cup curiously. Then he saw how the others are drinking, so he grabbed the cup too. He didn't realize how hot it actually was and yelped, almost dropping it. He somehow managed not to knock it over and put it  down. However this gained everyone's attention around the table, making him just wanting to disappear. Even the waiter stopped what he was doing.

'Hey' he heard a quiet voice from his right. He turned his head and faced the princess. Lia smiled at him. 'Watch me' she whispered, then reached out and grabbed her cup by its handle with her fingers gracefully and raised it to her lips. Kwan watched her movements and copied her.

'Thank you' he whispered back smiling. Hansol suppressed a smile too and cleared his throat.

'Kwan grew up on an island in the South Seas' he started another conversation.

'You would never guess it!' said Queen Ariana in a flattering tone, but Kwan could feel the irony in her voice. He lowered his head. Then he could feel Hansol entwining their fingers under the table and he smiled at the prince with a racing heart.

Queen Ariana continued her performance by turning to her other side where Koya was sitting. The koala had a cup in front of him too, filled with water and he was drinking from it somewhat clumsily. Still, he didn't drop the cup like Kwan did.

'How cute koala are you!' cheered Ariana. 'And how perfectly you behave even though you are an animal!'

Kwan bit his lip. He knew this was directed at him again but decided to hold on.

'Lia!' screeched Ariana. By this time even Hansol felt the urge to pour his tea in her face. Can't she just shut up for a minute? 'Tell these lovely people about your aquarelles!' said the queen.

'Maybe some other time, Mother' said Lia shyly.

'Don't be shy, talk! You love painting!'

Lia sighed as she started talking about her art and what painting means to her. She quickly got the hang of speaking and didn't feel that shy anymore. Everyone listened to her intently while the waiter was walking around with a tray of pastries.

Suddenly the waiter tripped over something and lost his balance. The tray of pastries fell directly towards Kwan, messing up his clothes. Everyone gasped as the boy stood up embarrassed, dusting the crumbs off of himself.

'Oh gosh! I-I'm so sorry, sir!' stood back up the waiter as he picked the empty tray up.

'I... I think I'll go' said Kwan with tears in his eyes and without another word he started running towards the greenhouse.

'Kwan! Kwan, wait!' stood up Hansol and was about to follow the boy. His mother caught his arm.

'Let him be' she said in a kind and calm voice. Hansol looked after the other boy sadly.

No one realized that Queen Ariana was grinning into her tea cup.