Be My King (ON-HOLD)

Chapter One

Bas Piniwat ☝️
____________________________________
____________________________________

The canvas remained empty. It's only been days but for the painter, it felt like an eternity.

Laying colors into the white course cloth is the only way he could forget the looming feelings brought by the relentless painful past. It's a temporary fix but it was better than nothing.

What now, he asked himself. He couldn't even raise his arm. He's been injured.

Days before he was to fly to another country to oversee his first ever auction for the paintings he made years ago, he got into an accident. It was very unfortunate indeed. And it's only getting worse.

"Ahhhh!!!"

He screamed on top of his lungs, scaring the birds off his window sill. He violently tried to remove his arm support. His doctor rushed into the room and attempted to help him.

"Don't touch me!" The painter shouted, eyes bulging in anger. The doctor flinched and almost fell on her back.

"Bas!" Another person came into the room. He tried to comfort the doctor but the latter yelled her resignation as she stomped her way out, crying and wiping her tears.

"She was the tenth one!"

"I don't give a shit, Louie!" Bas yelled at his friend. Louie has been the only one who can tolerate the young painter.

Bas, only child of the Piniwat household, is a twenty one year old prodigy in landscape oil painting. He has been drawing and painting masterpieces since he could remember. But his fame came after his mother released the works he did when he was sixteen.

"We can't find any more doctor if you keep this up," Louie said as he made Bas keep the arm support.

The painter couldn't lift a hand to do a thing. He hated it. If he moved his good arm, the right one, it still hurt the same.

He hated all his doctors, too. Or rather, he dislikes everyone.

Bas has never grown close to anybody. Even his parents became worried over his nature. Until a boy came to their household.

He gritted his teeth remembering the most painful part of his life. It's one of those times he badly needed to paint. Yet, he couldn't.

"B-Bas?" Louie uttered worriedly as Bas began to shake lightly. He was balling his right fist, angry.

"I need a drink," he demanded. His voice was shaky, hissing. He could feel his own chest getting twisted as the images of the past play in his mind. "Now," He added firmly.

"You took a pain pill, Bas. You can't drink."

"Either you get me someone to watch get beaten up or you give me a drink," Bas said, turning his blazing anger towards his friend. "Which is it, Lou?"

Gritting his teeth, Louie made an urgent call. "Yeah, it's happening again."

"I'm sorry, Louie. We still have no one," the voice from the other line said. "Give him a drink but not alcoholic. Put a sleeping pill on it."

"Yes, Sir."

Louie did as asked by his boss, Bas' father. Deceiving Bas even over the littlest things, he couldn't. So before the latter could pass out from the pill, he confessed that the drink wasn't an alcoholic one.

Instead of anger, Bas smiled sadly. "Thanks, Lou."

Tears rolled down Louie's eyes as he tucked the younger man in his bed. "When will you heal, Bas?" He asked through a whisper as he looked at the strained expression in Bas' face.

With his thumb he smoothed the crease on the painter's forehead. "He's been gone for six years now. You have to move on. You're so stubborn, you're hurting yourself.

"My brother will never come back, Bas. Joss will never come back."

"Woah! You're really good at drawing people, Bas." An older boy admired the twelve year old's new work.

"Thank you, Joss!" Bas grinned happily. He looked at his model and he was very happy to see Joss' eyes sparkle seeing his own portrait on a paper.

"You like it?"

"Are you kidding?" Joss turned to Bas. "I love this! You're amazing!"

Bas pursed his lips, unable to contain his happiness. Whenever he saw his best friend happy, he was happier.

"Hey, Bas..."

"Mm?" The younger boy raised his head and met the eyes of the boy next to him. Joss is very tall for his age. He was only fourteen yet he stood six feet already.

"I'm going to join your father's company," Joss said, his eyes looking directly at Bas' dark orbs.

"Why?" The younger boy asked

With a smile, Joss ruffled Bas' hair. "I want to train and become your bodyguard, of course."

"I have two bodyguards," Bas replied with a chuckle. "I thought we'll go to school together. I will be able to finally see your school."

"I know. We'll still go to school together."

"I don't understand anymore!" Bas chortled.

"You're so cute!" Joss pinched Bas' cheeks after laying the paper down gently. "And this cute rabbit needs to be protected. At all times!"

Bas' laughter echoed in the garden behind the mansion as Joss tickled him to no ends.

All the while, two figures from inside the house watched at their son with smiles.

"I'm glad we found him and his brother. Bas is quite attached to him," the woman spoke.

"He wants to join the organization. I told him and Louie that they didn't have to," the man said. "They're part of the family now but like Bas, I would rather not have them join."

"Louie wants to be a lawyer, doesn't he?" The woman asked.

"For the family," her husband answered. "For the 'whole' family," he added.

The woman sighed and to soothe her husband's worry, she took his hand and clasped it with hers. "They're still young, sweetheart. We can still convince them to choose another path."

"I hope so. I really hope that we can," the man said as he kissed his wife's temple. "Especially Joss. For Bas' sake."

Bas woke up. He exhaled shakily as he opened his eyes. It was already dark.

"I told you not to be my bodyguard. I had two," Bas murmured with tears rolling down his cheeks.
____________________________________
____________________________________

A/N: How is it?
I was crying a little, by the way. I tried not to. 😭

Anywho, Please don't forget to vote if you liked the chapter. Leave a comment if you want to, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

- ZiaJang