Seabound-SKZ

Thirty-Four

Chan slumped against his horse, the steady breathing of the creature calming his nerves, still on high alert, every tiny sound making the boy flinch and reach for his knife, he knew he couldn't sleep tonight, it was too dangerous to let his guard down.

He shivered against his horse's sleek coat, the heartbeat reassuring him that he wasn't alone as he sat in the darkness of night, the cold night air biting into his skin and the wind stinging as it whipped into him.

The ex-prince ended up humming a soft lullaby under his breath, the familiar tune bringing him some comfort in the darkness. He pulled his legs up to his chest in an attempt to stay warm, playing with his blade in the sand to keep himself awake.

He continued his songs late into the night, only stopping when he could see the sun beginning to rise and the birds beginning to chirp in the trees, when he stood and stretched out his limbs, shaking himself of sand.

Chan began re-packing his few belongings, still thinking about the night before, what where they now? he hoped the answer was boyfriends, but honestly, they hadn't talked about it at all after they confessed, and he realized now that had been a mistake, especially since he was alone and they were all together, they would most definitely talk without him and he would be out of the loop, which didn't sound like something he wanted to happen.

He stared at the water, hoping that a Mer would surface and he wouldn't have to just leave, even though everyone knew that there was a chance he wouldn't stay in the morning, he wrote a quick letter when no head broke the surface, disappointment filling him as he explained that he had to keep moving and they would be able to catch up soon, followed quickly by an apology to the Mers for everything that was happening.

He mounted his horse, emotions still bubbling inside of him while he tried to fight them down, he wasn't going to fall apart again, that wasn't an option. not now, not ever.

Riding along the same stream he had followed to that beach soon became too difficult, the rocks and fallen trees combined with the light drizzle of rain that had started was impossible for his horse to walk along, so the relief that came from finally reaching one of the last villages on the edges of the ocean, before the kingdom's territory went further over the land, the rest of the beaches and such belonging to the neighboring kingdom, was very welcome.

He had first spotted the lanterns at the edge of a tavern, with a pier sticking out over the choppy waves, boats rising and falling with the water, right on the outside of the village, the merry sounds of the travelers inside carrying outside, so he quickly changed his course towards there, maybe he could stay there until the rain stopped.

The person manning the gates to get into the tavern was very friendly, she recognized Chan as the ex-prince pretty quickly, apologizing softly and saying;

"We heard what happened, most of us agree with you, yeah? you shouldn't be forced to marry anyone." she said sincerely, Chan forcing a small smile and nodding, "Thank you," He said softly, "My dad's the tavern owner, he's on your side too, you can pro'lly stay 's long as you like," the girl grinned at him, Chan relaxing at that, "Really, I just need somewhere to stay until the rain passes, then I'll be out of your hair."

She quickly introduced herself as Kaia, bringing his horse around the back towards the stables, "We'll have 'im all comfy back here until you decide to leave," she flashed him another of her stunning grins, eyes lighting up each time she did so, "So, what's this beauty's name anyway?" she asked, making Chan smile softly "his name's Squall! my dad named him," Kaia nodded, her eyes still twinkling in the soft light, "Gorgeous name for a gorgeous horse," She patted Squall's neck one last time before ushering Chan toward the tavern.

She took him in through the back door, yelling at her father in a language Chan didn't understand, but he took it that everything was okay as her father flashed a grin at him and waved before returning to his tasks.

He followed her up a flight of stairs to a hallway full of rooms, watching her awkwardly as she stopped to chat with a group of people who looked around her age and wave them downstairs, laughing as they left, she glanced back at Chan, apologizing for getting sidetracked before opening the door to one, "You can stay here 's long as you like, storms not gonna pass for a while, at least that's what the sailors are sayin',"

She left after explaining how the staff was dressed differently and how he could call on her whenever; she also told him she was eighteen just to make sure he knew that he could call on her and her friends for drinking buddies if he needed them.

He sat on the edge of the bed, sighing deeply. at least he had a place to sleep now, and if the sailors were right in saying the storm wouldn't pass soon he would need the room, and sailors were usually right about these things.

He watched the rain drum against the window, soon becoming a downpour and he was glad he wasn't outside in that, especially since he had all of his belongings on him, some of which shouldn't get wet.

The sounds of people's laughter from the main room of the tavern soon became too much to resist and he went back downstairs after making sure his bag of belongings was stored safely beneath his bed, taking a few of his few coins with him to hopefully buy some cheap food.

He entered the room, it wasn't yet evening, barely scraping noon, so they weren't serving alcohol quite yet and the children seeking shelter from the storm were still allowed inside the bar area, making the already rowdy room even louder as they rushed around playing tag and shrieking.

He sat at a table as one of the staff promised to be with him in a moment, watching around to room to become acquainted with his new surroundings, head snapping back to look at the other side of his table as a cloaked figure sat down, removing their cloak to rid themselves of the wet layer, and the eyes of Jungkook, one of Prince Namjoon's bodyguards, stared back at him.