Seabound-SKZ

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chan had reached the edge of the first cities and villages between the palace and the less wealthy towns fairly quickly, especially since he had been on horseback this time rather than walking. he was so numb inside, he couldn't let himself break down now. not while he didn't have a place to sleep, not while he had no money, not when he had no way to contact the Mer's, especially Hyunjin and Seungmin. 

He wound up by the shoreline to give his horse a break and let him drink from a near freshwater stream, he himself sitting next to the stream and searching through his bag that Jinyoung had packed, silently thanking the man for the food, glass bottle of water, and a small bag of coins that he had completely forgotten to pack for himself, but Jinyoung was always much better at remembering things then he was. 

He noticed the letter at the bottom of his bag, it was stamped with the royal crest in red wax and Chan let out a dry laugh, the creatures on either side of it staring up at him blankly as he pushed it aside in the bag, not sure if he had the time to sit and read while he had nowhere to sleep tonight and limited supplies. 

It was just past noon when he finally decided to keep going, maybe he could find someone in the smaller towns to take him in for the night, he got up to start getting his horse ready to leave, reattaching the equipment that he had taken off due to the heat, he kept catching himself looking toward the sea and hoping the glints of sunlight were scales, but he knew he was giving himself false hope. 

He finally stopped stalling and mounted his horse again, heading further and further from the palace. He stopped recognizing the landmarks after a while, his father had never taken him this far away from home, he was getting scared by now, he didn't know what he was doing anymore. his whole life had always been set in stone but now...he was lost, literally. He had no idea where he was. 

The sun just kept climbing in the sky and Chan was getting more and more nervous, he would probably have to sleep outside at this rate and he had no interest in getting eaten by wolves at night. He missed the Mer's already, what if he never got to see them again?  He shook himself of the thought and kept moving, he couldn't keep thinking like that or it would rip him apart. 

He had ridden through several towns by now, each time he had thought he could make it to the next one, but he now realized the next one was too far down the road to make it today and he would have to figure something else out for the night. He dismounted his horse again, taking a quick sip of water and leading the horse to the same stream he had been following along the shoreline, he was incredibly grateful that the freshwater had woven along the same way he had been going so that he could actually drink something. 

"Alright, boy." He said aloud, hooking the harness onto a tree so his horse wouldn't run away, "I've gotta figure out how to light a fire now," he kept talking out loud, the comfort of hearing even his own voice helped him focus, He was breathing heavily by the time he finally lit the fire, but it was worth it when he watched the orange flicker to life. 

"Channie!" the sudden outcry from the water scared Chan as Jeongin surfaced near the shore, he looked up in surprise when the rest of the Mer's followed suit, the seven heads breaking the water as they paddled as close to the beach as they could before they had to haul themselves along the sand, rather ungracefully Chan had to admit. 

"What are you guys doing here?" Chan asked, sitting on the sand to talk to the Mer's at eye level, "We're just finding trinkets and stuff for Minnie and we saw you!" Felix chirped happily, motioning to Seungmin, who waved shyly at the ex-prince, "Why are you here, Chan?" Minho asked curiously, the rest of his friends nodding quickly with his question, "I-" Chan hesitated, how to even explain the story without telling them about his crushes? and him and Hyunjin and Seungmin? He fumbled for a moment before starting his story, edging around what had happened with his mother as best as he could. 

The Mer's moved in closer to hold the boy's hands and offer small words of support, Felix shuffling in closer to cuddle up next to the ex-prince, Chan smiled weakly, "I'm not even sure what I'm feeling right now," He shrugged helplessly, "I'm just...numb." Minho nodded, reaching to ruffle his hair slightly and fiddle with the mess of curls, Chan melting into his touch.

It wasn't long before Jeongin started asking questions about why his mother had gotten so mad, and why the royal Kim's had forced her to make the final decision. Seungmin watched his panic set in while he tried to explain without telling them what had happened with himself and Hyunjin, "do you think we should just tell them?" He transmitted to Hyunjin, who jumped at the sudden voice filling his head, making the rest of them look at him in concern and Hyunjin played it off like a crab pinching him. 

"I think we should," Hyunjin agreed quickly, Chan's ears growing increasingly pink while he stuttered, Seungmin tilted his head to show he heard him before he forced his voice into Chan's head, it was unnatural feeling to try to transmit to a human, it was dizzying. He pushed on anyway, "We think you should just tell them," Chan yelped at the sudden voice, Changbin automatically reaching toward the older to comfort him, Chan looking at Seungmin in shock before shaking his head and saying "I have something to say," 

He took a deep breath, Hyunjin placing a hand on his leg in moral support, "I-" Seungmin shook his head when Chan started, and the oldest corrected himself quickly, "We," Jisung interrupted immediately "Who's we?" He asked, Chan smiled and motioned to himself, Seungmin, and Hyunjin, "The night after the ball when I opposed my mother, I went down to the docks," He looked at Hyunjin, who nodded in approval, 

"Hyunjin was there, and I told him everything. why my mother got so mad," Jeongin watched him intently as he explained, Chan feeling incredibly small under the boy's gaze, "I told my mother that I loved-liked someone else," Chanbin deflated at the confession, it wasn't him..."Well-more then one someone," He fiddled with his fingers, "She didn't like that, she yelled at me and hit me, called me f-something h-horrible," He felt the lump rising in his throat but did his best to swallow it, he was telling them a very toned down of the real story, but the Mer's got the idea. 

"I'm so sorry," Minho said quietly, Chan shrugged, "Not your fault," He looked up again, blinking away the tears that had filled his eyes, Felix pulling him into a tighter hug, "Then what?" Jisung pressed gently. 

"I...I told Hyunjin who I liked and Seungmin overheard..." Chan hesitated again before Changbin asked; "Who is it? If you don't mind me asking..?" Chan offered a small smile before opening his mouth to finally admit his feelings.