Sailing Away - A Stray Kids Fanfic

Chapter 1: An Unfortunate Accident

Each day started off with tea, then light conversation, royal duties, before the family dinner. And each day grew more dull the longer Chan was forced to live inside the castle, the boy sipping his tea with his chin rested in his hand, rolling his eyes at all the side glances any and every person in the room gave him. Proper manners had never been a strong suit for him, and as he let out an annoyed sigh and slurped his tea, he wondered how many more tea parties he'd be forced to endure before he'd be allowed to see the beauty of the earth outside the walls of this castle.

Chan wasn't sad or depressed, he was quite content with life, living his day to day routine while wearing his fake smile, flirting with the female staff and concubines around the castle. In fact, just a few months before he had been given the good news of his own engagement, to a pretty princess living in the neighboring nation. She was young, not even of age yet, but Chan had been told he would wait out the days before she was 18 here, learning how to better himself, and his manners. He would play around whenever he had the chance, and to be quite frank he got around a great deal as well, the playboy of the castle and nation. And as he sat drinking his tea in his boredom, he decided to take the moment to find his next victim, his eyes roaming across the faces of the females in the room, some blushing when they made eye contact with him. They knew what he wanted, and he knew what he liked.

Chan jumped when the hand suddenly slammed down on the table, the prince leaning back in his seat as he stared at the new comer with wide eyes, his friend and teacher over the years now staring at him with a heated glare. While Chan knew himself, this man knew him even better. And he caught onto his thoughts almost immediately, the man standing up straight as he pulled his palm away from the table, gulping as he tried to contain his annoyance. "Perhaps you'd enjoy a stroll in the garden, young prince?" the man said, and Chan eyed the other before snorting, nodding his head as he sucked down the rest of his tea. The man eyed the act but said nothing about his rude behavior, instead sighed as he watched the prince rise from his seat to follow behind the teacher. His name was Harold, and Chan had always been fond of him.

"You've interrupted my thoughts, Harold," Chan complained as he followed the other out of the room, but the older looked over his shoulder and gave Chan only another small glare, easily pulling the chuckle from his lips as Chan started to skip in happiness. "You don't see quite fond of me," Chan added, and Harold sighed, opening the door to the outside before motioning to the garden, Chan slipping through the space first before feeling as Harold quietly followed behind.

"My prince, you act as naïve as you are. Word of your... behavior, has already spread through the castle and beyond. Your father has spoken to me and has come up with a new plan," Harold said, and Chan stopped short of the bench in the middle of the garden, staring at the newly planted flowers before lifting his head to glance at his teacher.

"My father has decided on a new plan?" Chan asked, and he bit his lip as his mind suddenly started to race. If his father was involved, nothing good ever came of it.

"Your fiancé is not yet of age, but there is no rule against you living with her. You shall leave tomorrow to your new home," Harold said, and Chan grew wide eyed as he took a step back, stepping on one of the fresh flowers as he glared up at the teacher. Except the other didn't seem to be angered anymore, he seemed to be upset. Maybe he didn't want Chan to go as much as Chan didn't want to leave. Sure leaving the castle for an afternoon out was one thing, but leaving forever was another. And he hadn't even considered that an option until the future.

"Harold... this is preposterous," Chan whispered, but the other only shook his head as he took a seat, folding his hands in his lap like the proper gentleman he was. Chan only continued to hold his hands into fists by his side as he felt his anger rush through him, and he took a step closer to the other on the bench, a frown on his face that matched the fire in his eyes.