Stressful dining

On his way back home, Mingi was once again greeted by the busy villagers. Every passing villager had either stopped him for a quick chat or greeted him with a adoring smile. Mingi being Mingi, he smiled back awkwardly and told the villagers he was in a bit of a rush. The villagers understood him and let him be. He also saw the old woman who was still selling crystal water at her stand. She had brand new baskets of crystal water on the counter with a box full of gold coins at the very edge. The blonde was glad the woman was able to sell some of the crystal water jars.

Passing by the market, he made his way up the familiar hill and opened the wooden gate to his father's property. Some of the servants were already outside, trimming down some of the overgrown bushes next to the fence. Mingi nodded his head at the servants and made his way to the front door, giving a quick glance at the flower bed before going inside. The house was bustling with servants who ran through the hallways, some with fresh bed sheets, some with new clothes. The blonde elf waited for the perfect opportunity to slip past the servants to his own room, and when he saw no one in sight, his plan went into action immediately.

Luckily, he wasn't spotted by anyone, or if he was, he didn't see anyone. Quickly opening the door to his chambers, he slipped trough the door and closed it behind him. With a sigh, he leaned against the door, a grin forming on his lips in victory. He glanced at the clock above his bed, which read '8:47'. He had exactly 13 minutes for himself before he had to leave again. The idea of dining with his father in silence wasn't particularly to his liking, but he figured his father had something to discuss with him.

Mingi's room wasn't anything special, at least compared to Seonghwa's dreamy-like shop, but he was content with it. His bed took at least two thirds of the space in his room, leaving room for a small wooden table and his stump chair under it for him to sit on. There was also a small shelf next to his window that was full of books, books about humans and other species. Mingi was extremely intrigued by their tales and whatnot, his head always between the covers of some book. His father had told him not to read so much about humans, but Mingi couldn't help his fascination towards the unknown species.

With a quick glance at the bookshelf, he turned to his table in front of the bed. The wooden comb from this morning was still neatly placed on it, a half-full glass with water next to it. His eyes fixated on the mirror. Something clicked in his mind when he saw the mirror; he hadn't seen the piercing on his ear up-close. He only saw the earring before he had put it on his ear, but he hadn't seen it on himself. Intrigued by this, he made his way to the mirror, looking at his tired but bright figure.

The earring was indeed dangling from his earlobe, shining in the morning sun. His hand went up to his ear to touch the earring, cool against his fingers. It was a small chain with a tiny golden star at the very end of it. As soon as he had first seen the earring at Seonghwa's, he had taken a liking to it. It reminded of his mother in the heavens, staring at him from the stars. It brought a melancholic smile onto Mingi's lips, but he was happy. Maybe it was the spell embedded into the piece of jewelry, or maybe it was genuine happiness, he didn't know. He wasn't sad, he was truly happy and content. The earring brought a lot of joy without him even noticing it.

And Seonghwa had been right, the earring genuinely made him look amazing. The silver haired elf wasn't lying when he said Mingi would look hot wearing it. Shyly smiling to himself at the embarrassing memory, Mingi let go of the earring and glanced at his attire instead. In his opinion, he looked as best as he could, and he had no idea why his father disliked his current choice of clothing. Maybe he didn't like the silky open shirt Mingi wore that clearly showed his stomach, but like Mingi would care about his father's opinions.

He decided not to change his attire, although, his father would surely comments something about it later at breakfast. But Mingi simply didn't care. He peeked at the clock, almost panicking a little when he saw he had one minute to be in the kitchen with his father by his side. In a panicked rush, the blonde threw the door open and ran out of his room, sprinting through the hallways. Several bumps on servants and almost falling on the floor, he reached the kitchen. With a sigh, he peeked over at the empty kitchen, cursing in his head when his father was nowhere in sight. Maybe he had left when he saw Mingi wasn't coming.

Unfortunately, a tap on his shoulder crushed his childish wishes instantly. It was his father, standing proudly behind him with his magical staff in his left hand. The chief looked majestic as usual, his clothes telling everyone he was a high-ranking elf. Mingi grimaced at how his father was in such formal clothes, but he decided not to comment on it since he'd get yelled at anyways. The black markings on his father's face made him even more intimidating.

The older man raised a questioning eyebrow at Mingi, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You didn't change your clothes." He said, looking his son up and down as if he was closely studying him. Mingi gulped at his father's piercing stare, feeling as small as ever under his watch. His father scoffed and ignored the small whimper which left Mingi's lips, entering the kitchen. The blonde trailed behind his father, following him to the table.

Mingi hadn't even noticed the gorgeously set table when he visited the kitchen earlier. Now he could see all the divine food placed on the table. There were two chairs carefully placed on either side of the table, his father sitting on one of them. With quiet steps, he made his way to the other chair, carefully sitting on it, avoiding his father's eyes as best as he could. Two servants came in the kitchen with silver trays in their careful hands. Mingi watched as the two servants made their way to the table and set the two trays in front of them. One in front of Mingi and one in front of his father.

The servant bowed at Mingi and walked out of the kitchen with the other servant, closing the double doors behind them. As he was about to dig into his breakfast full of eggs and meat, his father coughed quite loudly, gaining Mingi's attention. The blonde elf turned his head to look at his father, and with cautious eyes, he met his father's fierce ones. "I heard you left somewhere this morning." He said with a strong tone in his voice. His eyes didn't even quiver as he stared at his son. "Where were you?" He asked, sending a wave of shock through Mingi's body. "Were you with that friend of yours?" The way the word 'friend' slipped past his father's lips wasn't warm at all, it was as if his father hated the silver haired elf.

With a small nod, Mingi could feel the burning stare of his father intensify. He wanted to bury himself underground right at that moment, hating the fact his father was judging him. The older man let out a scoff, banging his fist against the table, not hard enough to break the wooden table, but it was enough to scare the younger elf. "Mingi." He said, the sharp tone of his voice slicing Mingi's heart like butter. "You have other things to do than be with that — that freak. He's manipulating you into thinking those piercings are good looking on you, they are not. They look sinful on your noble body, I'd advice you to take all of them out and throw them to the bottom of the lake." He stated, taking his fist off the table, wiping his mouth with a tissue.

Mingi looked at his lap with pursed lips, contemplating his next words carefully. It wasn't easy to counter his father's words, in fact, it was almost impossible since the hurtful words dag too deep into his heart. But he was the chief's son, and he didn't like the way he was treated by his own father. He wanted to say something in return so badly, he wanted to tell him that Seonghwa wasn't manipulating him — that he wasn't a 'freak' like his father had worded out. But Mingi knew his father had something very important to discuss, so he decided against it. "Yes, father." He simply said, voice almost inaudible.

An ugly smirk formed on his father's lips, making Mingi grimace even more. With a nod, his father mouthed a small 'good' and continued with his dish for a few minutes. The blonde elf had lost his appetite, poking the piece of meat with his fork, thoughts somewhere they probably shouldn't be right now. He heard his father's content hums, indicating he was ready with the meal. The younger elf raised his head to look at his father, careful eyes focusing on his father. "Now, I have something important to say to you. As you know, the Lenaia festival is very close. It is to be held in three days." He said sternly, looking straight at his son. "I have decided that you are participating as well."

As soon as Mingi had heard those words, his world froze around him. His father had decided that he was to join the fighting arena? He had decided that even thought he knew how much Mingi hated violence, talking about fighting. The blonde elf stared at his father in a daze, his words looping inside his head. Had he heard him wrong? "I — but-" He tried, his words getting stuck in his throat as much as he tried to speak. The older man rolled his eyes in annoyance. "You know how much I hate violence, father. How could you?" He said, voice wobbly and dry from shock.

"Of course I know you don't like fighting, but you are a powerful elf, Mingi. I'm positive you'll show the other tribes our power." Mingi's father said, relaxing into his chair. "You'll show everyone what the Iris clan is capable of." He smiled, glancing at Mingi who was still frozen in one place, eyes wide as plates. "Come on, it can't be that hard on you to participate in a little fighting festival, can it? You'll see when everyone is cheering on you."

The anger inside Mingi only grew bigger as his father kept talking, his ears blocked every other sound except his father's voice and his own rapid heartbeat in his chest. The way his father kept boasting about their clan's power made him boil with hatred, he wanted to yell, shout at the older man. He wanted to say something, but his own words failed him, he couldn't say even a single word as an excuse for not fighting. The older elf looked at Mingi with a raised eyebrow, a laugh leaving his lips right after. Something in the younger snapped at that. He stood up from the chair, taking a deep, collected breath before exploding. "I will not — I repeat — I will not fight. You have no right to force me to fight, you can't. I'm your goddamn son. You know how much I hate fighting in general, I have never touched a weapon in my life, so how can you do this to me? How can decide on something like that without even asking me about it? How — how could you?"

His father stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open. His expression shifted from confused to angry, a crease forming between his thick eyebrows. He, too, stood up from his chair and made his way to Mingi with slow, anguishing steps. The blonde elf watched as his father stopped in front of him, eyes fixated on him, ever letting his eyes go. The second Mingi was about to say something, his father beat him to it. Before he knew it, a slap echoed in the dining room, a red mark on Mingi's cheek the only evidence of what just happened. It was quick, but enough to shake Mingi to his core. His father had just slapped him.

"Before you talk to me like that, think about it. I am your father and the leader of this village, this tribe, this big clan. You have no right to speak to me like that, even if you're my son, I do not tolerate behavior like this." The older elf scoffed. "Go to your room to think about your mistakes, Mingi. I will have guards fetch you in three days to get you ready for the festival, whether you liked it or not."

Without saying another word, his father left the dining room, leaving Mingi alone in total silence with a red hand print on his right cheek.