♘
with a heavy sigh, the black haired elf accepted his fate and followed a well dressed maid to the kitchen. the boy and the middle aged woman hadn't exchanged a single word as the elf simply not felt like it and she probably did not tolerate his behavior.
but how could he help it? xu minghao, the chosen heir of the throne of seventa. he never wanted to be the future ruler of the woods, mostly since chances of him inheriting that positions were fair low. the king was far in his hundreds and in minghao's nineteen years of existence no fights had occurred in their safe kingdom, meaning that their was no way he could live a little more free any time soon.
"junhui!" the maid called out an unfamiliar name once they entered a messy kitchen, snapping minghao from his daydream as the elf had been deep in thoughts in the unbearable silence. the head of a tall, goofy boy peeked around the corner of the stocking room, his brown hair falling over his eyes in a playful manner.
"miss song! i wasn't expecting you, what can i do for you?" the boy, whose name appeared to be junhui, rushed over to them all the way from the other side of the huge kitchen.
"apparently this boy had been bratty during lord seungcheol's meeting. he asked me to bring him to you and help you with the dishes and preparing dinner tonight as his punishment. maybe he'll learn his lesson this way." a foolish smile appeared on the brown-haired cook, who minghao considered around the same age as him.
"i'll gladly take it from here." he spoke, waving the maid away who bowed politely before she left. at first, both the elf and cook didn't spoke a word, giving junhui the time to look his sudden companion up and down. his white skin seemed so soft and vulnerable, as if it could break by just the touch of junhui's finger tips. and his shining black shoulder-length hair made junhui desperate to brush his fingertips through it. strong cheekbones, beautiful shaped nose and dark tamed eyebrows.
the elf was just a slight bit shorter than him and wore visibly fancier clothes, as the cook only wore an apron to catch all dirt. yet junhui succeeded in not blurting out all the flawless features he saw in front of him, deciding he had been staring long enough at this beautiful creature. unlike him, minghao didn't dare to look up a single time, finding the taller male in front of him quite intimidating.
"i assume you came here to help me with the preparation of dinner and to help me finish this pile of dishes." junhui started in a forced out stern tone, knowing how his presence affected the adorable elf in his kitchen. "but seeing you all well dressed made me change my mind. the warm water will ruin your clothing. how did someone like you even end up in my kitchen?"
the black-haired elf emit a sigh, finally finding the courage to look the friendly looking cook straight in the eyes. to his surprise, they sparkled and radiated warmth, a feeling minghao wished to clamp onto forever. "apparently my behavior angered my king." junhui guessed the boy was speaking about the elvish king instead of lord seungcheol. "but what am i supposed to do as the heir of my kingdom. i was chosen at birth, it is not like i am given the choice whether i want to become a king or live a normal life. he should have given that title to his son instead."
junhui bowed gracious, managing to bring a smile onto the grumpy boys face with what he was about to say next. "excuse me, your majesty. why is it, you refuse to be the truthful heir of the royal family? shouldn't you consider yourself lucky to be the chosen one?"
minghao rolled his eyes, seeing the boy in front of him was way more friendly than he expected at first sight. "that old crow wouldn't die in a hundred years, do i have to wait and be trained for a king for so many more years? no, i prefer to live a carefree life, without all formalities and rules i have to live by."
"a literal hundred years, or in a metaphorical sense?" junhui asked, curious about the aging of elves. minghao grinned cheekily, playing with a thin silver ring around his thumb. "in a literal way of speaking. i suppose you have heard from that foolish myth that elves don't age, which is mostly true."
junhui's mouth fell slightly agape, shamelessly letting his eyes wander over the perfect features of his face once again. "you must be older than i'm guessing then?" junhui playfully leaned on the closest counter that reached waist height, eyeing the boy with a frisky grin.
"i am just an average nineteen year old, don't get your hopes up." minghao answered with the slightest trace of a smile, his ice-cold blue eyes warming up somewhat as he turned around and wandered through the enormous kitchen. the taps, sinks and all those decorated cups and plates were an entirely unfamiliar terrain to the boy, who didn't know anything more than woods and everything built out of trees.
"you know what, to prove you how much i would like to be a normal human being like you i offer you my service. do you perhaps have another one of those?" minghao pointed out the cook's apron, who hurried to the stocking room and returned with an unblemished white piece of clothing and offered it to the elf.
"here you go, your majesty." he playfully emphasized the last two words, receiving a snort from minghao as he tried to figure out how to get the clothing on. junhui, being the flirt he is, took the opportunity to give him an extra hand. "allow me, sir?"
minghao rolled his eyes on the once again unnecessary name, but turned around to allow junhui access to the strings attached to the white piece of clothing. "careful." he warned the cook, but felt a fierce blush spread over his cheeks when he felt two large hands brushing past his thin waist, feeling how the fabric tightened around his tummy.
junhui of course, took his time to tie the cords. especially once the scent of the still unfamiliar boy entered his nose, traces of something sweet mixed with the scent of fresh rain. something alluring yet addicting, making the cook want to draw in closer. though he was quick to snap out of it as he stepped back, making the elf turn around once again with pinkish cheeks.
"i can't remember i have asked you for your name?" junhui spoke while he led minghao to the immense pile of unwashed plates and dirty glasses. to the cooks surprise, the unblemished elf seemed unfazed by what awaited him, rising junhui's level of enthusiasm.
"it's xu minghao. and your name is junhui, right? i thought i heard the lady earlier call it out?" minghao guessed, accepting the cloth junhui offered him. he didn't even question what his task was as junhui just started washing things and gave them to minghao, the elf drying them without further complaints.
"that's absolutely correct. wen junhui is the name. i am actually a year older than you, i turned twenty about a week ago." by his length, minghao had already expected him to be older. "can i just say that you look very gorgeous."
and once again, a furious blush appeared on minghao's milky white skin, making him hide a little behind his hair. "and that for a bratty elf that got sent out of a meeting, you've impressed me." junhui added, making minghao's current state only worse.
"i refuse to accept a compliment from such a handsome cook." minghao made an attempt to say something in return, taking junhui's words as flirting. hopefully. as it was quite unlike for two boys to speak in such way to one another. or at least, that's what he has been told by many people before. but since he already came at this point, crossing more boundaries could do no harm, right?
"i see, then you don't mind me refusing those of a beautiful king." junhui continued, making minghao realize that he indeed was flirting with him.
"unfortunately, i am no king." minghao contradicted him, trying to let junhui's words not affect him that much.
"my apologies, my prince."
"say junhui, i am going to say something very odd. but are you flirting with me?" minghao tried to sound as nonchalant as possible while asking such bold question. though regret hit him when he saw junhui's head turning in his direction from the corners of his eyes, making him slowly lift his head as well.
and as he did, his eyes met a smirking junhui. "well maybe i am, who knows."
with a playful wink from the cook, both boys went back to work in the enormous kitchen of the castle.
