The Merman's Lament - IvanTill

~10~

After spending some more time in the room, the servants knocked on the door to let them know dinner was ready. They both followed them downstairs and were greeted with the sight of a fabulous banquet Ivan had never really seen before, not even back home.

It had everything they could wish for, from all kinds of meat cooked in different ways to stunning, mouth-watering desserts Ivan could barely wait to try.

He was so excited to try out human food, seeing just how tasty it looked.

Till smiled softly at the sight of the hyped black-haired boy, finding him cute. They both took a seat, sitting next to each other.

They did dine in silence, enjoying their food in silence, but throughout it, they kept glancing at each other.

Ivan couldn't get enough of the different flavors of the food he was tasting. It was way more different than the one he ate underwater, which barely tasted like anything compared to the explosion he was getting as he was savoring the human world's delicacies.

Meanwhile, Till watched him amused, enjoying seeing his reactions. He loved the way his eyes would sparkle whenever he would bite into another dish.

"So, I have been thinking about it, and what do you think of going to town tomorrow? I could show you around."

Ivan was excited about it. He wanted to see what it was like and also indulge in some human activities that he had read about in the books. He nodded, letting Till know that he wanted to go.

"Then it is decided. Tomorrow, after breakfast, we will leave and spend the day in town."

Ivan truly couldn't wait. He was over the moon about everything. So far, everything had been incredible and nothing had disappointed him. He truly couldn't understand why his father had always told him so many bad things about the human world when it was wonderful. He was experiencing nothing but good and exciting things and he also got to experience them next to the one he loved the most.

After they finished dinner, Till and Ivan went back upstairs as it was already dark and they were both tired.

"Good night, Ivan. I hope you sleep well."

Ivan quickly used his notebook to write down.

"Good night, Till."

Then, they both closed the doors of their rooms before lighting up a candle. Ivan saw that the servants had left a gown for him to change into to sleep, so he changed into it. He got under the covers and then, once he was all cozy, he blew the candle, the darkness consuming the entire room again.

It took him some time to sleep, as he was too hyped for the next day, but eventually, his eyes ended up closing and he fell asleep, his body exhausted from the toll walking took on his feet and also from how painful his transformation into a human had been.

________________________________________________________________________________

Ivan woke up the next day, feeling the sunlight on his face slipping through the window. Till came into the room, already fully dressed, to wake him up if he hadn't already.

"Good morning, Ivan. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

Ivan nodded, and he immediately got out of bed, almost forgetting how difficult it was for him to walk due to the pain he would feel. However, Till helped him out, almost as if he already knew.

"Here, let me help you."

No servants had come, it was just Till. He helped him into the bathroom and then, he helped him bathe and dress. He borrowed from him another set of clothes, this time black and teal. Then, they went downstairs to have breakfast, which the servants were preparing.

Once again, Ivan was left in awe seeing the huge banquet before them. There was fruit, yogurt, cereal and all sorts of delicious pastries. They sat down at the table and Ivan immediately began picking a bit of everything, wanting to taste them all.

Till looked at him amused, loving his reactions as he tried everything. He really couldn't get enough of him, finding him extremely interesting.

"Do you like it?"

Ivan nodded enthusiastically as he kept eating and Till also smiled softly.

Once they were done, Till got the carriage ready and they both left for town. As they left the castle, Ivan took in the landscapes around them: The dense forest around the castle looked straight out of a fairytale, and he was curious about it. He wished he could explore it one day. Till also seemed to notice his interest.

"Would you like to come here tomorrow? I know the forest well. I can take you to the most beautiful place hidden deep within it."

Ivan nodded, excited about the idea.

Once they left the forest behind, they entered the town, and the carriage left them right at the center. Till helped him get off, careful not to fall.

Ivan was fascinated by the beautiful houses, all of them white with teal rooftops. The townspeople all looked very kind, waving at them as they passed by them. Many interesting shops caught Ivan's attention, from craftsman shops to bakeries, and what really attracted him the most was, at the center of a square, a group of musicians playing for people to dance. Till saw how Ivan wanted to dance too, so he decided to join him.

When the musicians noticed them, they began playing a slower, more romantic tune, and then Till placed one hand on his waist while he intertwined the other one and they waltzed all over the square. Ivan's feet were aching and were beginning to bleed, the pain being too intense, but he didn't care as he danced with Till, just focusing on him, staring at his eyes and trying not to think about the pain.

Everyone around them had stopped to watch them dance, and while on another occasion, Till would have perhaps felt shy, he didn't care as he kept waltzing with Ivan.

When the music finished and they were done dancing, everyone clapped, including the musicians, but Ivan was extremely exhausted from it due to the pain. He couldn't pretend anymore that he was fine, so Till noticed he was not okay.

"What's wrong?"

Ivan pointed at his feet and Till took him to a bench so he could sit down while he inspected his feet. Once he removed his shoes, he was horrified by the amount of blood there was.

"Oh God, what happened? How come there's so much blood?"

Ivan had no idea why he was bleeding, but he did know it was because of what the sea wizard had told him about his feet. He couldn't possibly tell Till about it, however, so he took out the notebook and wrote down.

"I don't know."

"We should return then. You are in no state to keep walking."

He decided to pick him up bridal style and take him like that towards the carriage. They returned to the castle and, as soon as they arrived, Till helped Ivan wash his feet while the servants cleaned the blood-stained socks and shoes. Ivan felt so much better, but he really had pushed himself too much.

However, the short time he had spent in town with Till had been wonderful, and it had made him feel like he was in a dream.

Everything seemed to be going just like Ivan wanted, perhaps even better, and he couldn't be any happier. 

Note: Finally I managed to overcome my writer's block on this fanfic! It took me so long and so many things happened in between. I struggle a lot with being able to do what I like sometimes, and that includes writing, so it really was one of those things affected the most during these months when I haven't been doing well.                                                                                                                    I also started another fanfic and kinda forgot about this one during these last few months, but be sure I will definitely finish it, even though I may not be that trustworthy when it comes to updating.