Seabound-SKZ

Chapter Nineteen

The Mers' had watched the boat dock, Chan looking princely as ever, though Felix noticed the prince awkwardly hiding one of his arms and constantly tugging down the sleeves of his shirt. They kept beneath the waves, the deep-sea dwellers covering Felix and Jeongin's brightly coloured scales as they watched the humans come off the boat, Seungmin had never understood how the women could stand to be in so much fabric constantly, they must be so uncomfortable and hot under all those layers. They had wanted to go and speak to Chan but the prince left quickly after the fancy people had gotten off the boat. disappointed the seven Merboys' turned around, Felix frowning as he thought back to the way the human prince had hidden his arms, even buttoning the end of his sleeves which Felix had realized he never did before. The Mer was becoming rapidly more concerned for the older, remembering how alone Chan said he was back on land. Jisung swam up next to him, watching his almost-twins face "Hey Lixie," He greeted, pushing the younger in the shoulder playfully in an attempt to lighten the mood "What are you thinking about?" Felix spared him a glance before looking back ahead of himself "I'm worried about Chan." he admitted, Sung nodding with him "Me too," He took Felix's hand gently "He seemed weird." they came to the decision to swim to the private dock later to see if they could get Chan to come down, but it seemed that his mother was preventing him from leaving his room if Minho had been correct when he saw his door boarded up. 

Seungmin had taken them to his house, the seven of them each collapsing onto a chair, Jisung flopping on top of Minho who let out a loud groan at the sudden weight. the boys lay like that, comfortable in their silence, Jeongin and Felix beginning to play a game of cards, Changbin and Hyunjin joining in after a few hands, the three youngest in that group laughing together as they ganged up on Changbin, who was soon holding at least a third of the deck. 

Chan was struggling, to say the least, his mother dragging him around the palace gardens in a flurry of stress while she lectured him on etiquette and making sure he remembered his dance steps, what fork to eat with, what topics he was and wasn't allowed to talk about. He tried to keep it all straight in his head, he could see Violetta watching from a window in the room she had been given, she waved at him shyly, giggling as his mother gripped his wrist tightly and pulled him away before he could wave back, wincing in pain as her nails dug into the scabs. He watched Violetta run away from the window she was standing in, her skirts the same colour as the flower she was named for. He hoped she was coming down to the gardens, possibly to save him from his mother, and his prayers were heard when she ran down the steps into the garden, tiny heels clicking and Chan couldn't imagine how difficult it was for the little girl to run in them on the cobblestone ground. "Chan!" She called to him, his mother looking scandalized at the informality, but he didn't mind, welcomed it in fact. 

Violetta had pulled him away from his mother quickly, the queen having little choice but to give in to the girl after she had given the older woman puppy eyes, "So Violetta," Chan started and the girl looked up at him from playing with a rose she had picked gently, "How are you liking our kingdom so far?" He asked, chuckling softly when she tucked the rose into his curls, right below his crown, "It's alright," She said "I mean, nothing compares to home," her tone was so sarcastic Chan wondered how this young girl could carry so much attitude. 

They walked like that for a while, Chan collecting all the flowers she had picked in his hands, eventually, they stopped on a bench at Violetta's request, where she took off his crown and stole her flowers back, braiding them into a new crown for him. He bowed his head to her to allow her to settle the flowers on his hair, she clapped excitedly when he looked back up "You look pretty!" she bubbled, her eyes twinkling when she watched him lean over a pond to see his reflection, "It is pretty, thank you, Violetta!" He smiled at the girl, who beamed proudly. He felt a tiny sting in his heart, she strongly resembled Felix when she did so, making Chan miss the Mers' even more. Bells rang, telling the two that lunch was starting and Chan offered her his hand to walk back inside. She frowned at him, making grabby hands while pouting and Chan melted, giving in and picking her up to carry her back inside. 

The governor watched as Chan set the little girl down in the great hall, she walked towards her father and climbed into the chair next to him, Chan sitting opposite them, next to Ada and Briar, who had seemed to make a space specifically for him to sit between them. The three other girls, Chan had just remembered their names, Charlotte, Lucia, and Renata sat beside their father next to Violetta and her father, scowling at Ada and Briar. He assumed it was because they too knew about the possible marriage, his stomach churning at the thought. they were nice girls, he knew, but frankly, he didn't want to be with anyone but the Mers', no matter how nice they were. His mother would never accept that, he knew but thinking about being with anyone but the seven scaled boys made him sad. He cleared his throat and started eating, struggling to swallow with the eyes of everyone at the table on him. His mother stood, all attention turning to her which made Chan breathe a sigh of relief, "We must be by the pier again by high tide, that is when the Queen and her husband will be here and we will greet them, begin whatever preparations you must before we leave." 

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