Sorry that this took so long! Work has been nuts!
The boys drifted off to sleep outside, and the next morning, when they woke up, they ate a quick breakfast before setting off on their journey. They weren't too far from the kingdom, and Sean grew more and more excited with ever moment. He couldn't wait to see all of the people, the celebrations, the floating lanterns, and even with his fear that Alex would leave him, he was trying to ignore everything that Erik had told him the previous night in the woods.
"Are we close?" Sean asked.
"We're 10 minutes closer than we were when you asked 10 minutes ago," Alex stated, laughing at the boy's excitement.
"And how close is that?"
"About…" Alex smiled. "Now." Alex threw open the gates to the city and Sean's eyes widened. There was music, and dancing, and everyone looked so happy.
"Oh my god…" Sean put his hand to his mouth, grinning in delight as he instantly jumped into the center of the crowd, looking at everyone and everything, trying to take in the whole scene. He laughed, clapping his hands as he walked up to a man. "What's the celebration all about?"
"It's for the lost prince – every year we celebrate the hope that he's still alive."
"Oh." Sean nodded. "Okay."
"You new around here?" The man asked.
"Yeah, I'm just passing through."
"Well me sure to enjoy yourself."
"I will!" Sean stepped away, running back to Alex. "This is so amazing! There are people everywhere, and they all look so happy! I am NEVER going back to my father! He said that everyone would try to hurt me, that no one was good for me, that no one would be good to me, but…you, these people, everyone's being so kind."
"Maybe it's you," Alex stated, handing over some food that he had bought. "Maybe you're nice to people, so they're nice to you. You're not like everyone else, Sean. You're strange, you're cheerful, people like that."
"Do you like it?" Sean tilted his head to the side.
"I'm still here, aren't I?" Alex sighed, finishing off his food.
"Oh, come on!" Sean's face split into a grin as a band started playing a lively tune. "Come dance!"
"No." Alex shook his head. "I don't dance, that's not my thing."
"Please?" Sean tilted his head to the side. "This is the best day of my life, the only day I've ever gotten to be outside, pleeease?" He pouted, and Alex rolled his eyes. He was finding it more and more difficult to resist the boy, and as Sean bounced into the center of the crowd, dancing around, Alex couldn't help but feel a pull to join him. He didn't know what it was yet, but this boy was really starting to get to him, and Alex wasn't sure he liked that. He had never been captivated like this by another person, he had always succeeded at pushing people away and now, here was this boy, dancing in the middle of a crowd, hair flopping around everywhere, grinning like there was no tomorrow, and Alex couldn't deny that he was touched.
"Oh alright." Alex sighed, doing his best to keep up with his lively companion. He really didn't know how to dance, but that didn't seem to bother Sean, nor anyone else, and what surprised him more than anything was that he managed to find himself actually having a good time leaping about amongst the throngs of people surrounding them.
"This is so much fun!" Sean laughed as he danced past Alex, smiling at every person he saw. He danced with an elderly woman, he danced with a little girl, letting her stand on his feet, he danced with a young man, a few young women and finally, he found himself tripping into Alex's arms.
"May I have this dance?" Alex found himself asking.
"Yes!" Sean nodded, taking Alex's hands and leaping into the center of the crowd, pulling the blond with him. Alex couldn't understand why he was having fun, but he was, and he was sure that, if nothing else, it was because Sean's exuberance was carrying over into himself.
The boys danced for almost an hour before the sun began to go down. A call was made, and people made their way to the waterfront to see the lanterns. Sean was ready to follow them when Alex took his hand, leading him in a different direction.
"Here." Alex smiled, helping Sean into a boat. "If this is the best day of your life, well, you might as well have the best view."
"Thank you!" Sean grinned, hugging Alex before getting into the boat, being careful not to fall in. He was excited to see the lanterns, but he couldn't help feeling that maybe, just maybe, the best part of his journey had already happened. He couldn't imagine that, even thousands of flying lanterns could compare to making a friend, especially not a friend like Alex.