The Prince Forth & The Pauper by ARIE78 (Completed)

Chapter: 13. Ballroom in heat

~The Banquet~

Forth  took his seat on his father’s right side; Wayo taking the king’s left which was protocol for an engagement banquet. August sat down next to Wayo while Beam sat next to Forth looking uncomfortable at the whole ceremony and at the clothes he was wearing, pulling at his collar every so often in an attempt to cool down. August, Wayo and Phana all had attendants standing behind them, whereas Forth had Ming, Kit and Beam thinking he was just a food taster had no-one.

Phana smiled over at Forth before blinking and tilting his head at Beam. “Forth, is your friend your food taster this evening?” He frowned, puzzled at the thought.

Forth was unable to speak for a second wondering why his father didn’t know this, but Beam realised what had happened and glared over in Wayo’s direction, who was conveniently looking away but held a smirk on his face. Forth looked over at Beam and realised where he was staring. He frowned, annoyed and was about to tell his father what had happened but was interrupted.

“No, that would be me.” Ming smiled at the king, stepping forward. “I asked the prince to let me do this honour as a way of making up for my past failures.” He looked over at Kit quickly, gesturing so the king couldn’t see for him to stand behind Beam before returning his gaze to Phana. “The Prince just wanted his guest to sit beside him today. That is allowed, is it not, your highness?”

Phana smiled at Ming, nodding before looking at Forth. “Of course it is.” He turned his gaze to Beam and smiled encouragingly, trying to reassure him that he shouldn’t worry so much. “I hope you have fun tonight.”

Beam smiled back, trying not to show just how nervous he was, though now he could relax a little more as he didn’t have the added worry of food tasting, though he was slightly worried about Ming. He turned again to look at Wayo and gauge his reaction. He could see Wayo glaring slightly at the wall but he hadn’t looked panicked as if something had gone wrong in his plans which reassured Beam a bit.

“Right!” Phana stood up from his seat and clapped his hands, bringing silence to those present. “I’m not very good at speeches as you all know.” He received a chuckle of appreciation at this comment. “So, we are gathered obviously to celebrate the engagement of my son Forth to the Prince Wayo.” He grinned at the people along the tables. “So let’s celebrate!” He clicked his fingers and his attendant handed him a glass of wine, signalling the others to do the same for their guests. He held up his glass. “To Forth and Wayo.” Everyone toasted along with him, some less enthusiastically than others before sitting around which signalled for the servants to begin bringing around the food.

Beam and Forth watched as Ming quickly checked Forth’s food, other testers doing the same for the other nobility around them. He winced as he took a sip of the wine.

“Are you OK?” Forth was quick to ask, scared that Ming could be hurt, Kit not far behind him, shooting worried glances over his shoulder as he attended to Beam.

Ming looked sheepishly down at Forth. “Sorry, it’s just really strong.”

Forth tutted, taking the glass from him. “Geez, are you trying to scare us?” He took a quick sip before staring at the drink. “Wow, you’re right. It’s good though.”

Phana smiled at Forth. “You like it?” When he received a nod he continued. “It’s a gift from Wayo’s father. Their kingdom is said to be able to boast the best wine so Wayo brought along some for us to try.”

Forth grinned back, feeling that he had to be polite and called over to get Wayo’s attention, holding the glass up. “This is the best wine I’ve tasted, thanks for bringing it.” He turned to Beam once he’d received a reply and held the glass out. “You should try some.”