The Prince and The Thief

One

Disclaimer: The story happens in a fictional location in Thailand. Also, in the story, the country is still a monarchy. I am not from Thailand. If any of the readers feel offended, I sincerely apologise in advance.

Ten years later, somewhere in the slums in the outskirts of Bangkok...

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Oak hit the TV hard, still wondering why it wasn't turning on.

Bright, who was in the kitchen, put his head out hearing the sound, his eyebrows furrowed and gasped at the sight.

Smack!
The next moment, Oak felt someone hit the back of his head. "P'," Oak groaned, glaring at Bright, who now stood in front of him, his hands on his hips. "Idiot! Do you even know how hard it was for me to steal this from the officer's house? I almost got caught, that big black dog almost bit me to death and I had to pay that a*shole Wad 100 baht to take me back!" Bright whined, while hugging his beloved TV. "But P', it won't even turn on," Oak said to which Bright glared at him and then dramatically moved forward to take the disconnected plug in his hand before looking back at the younger. "Idiot," Oak mumbled, hitting his own forehead, remembering that he himself had disconnected it the previous day because of the lightning and rain.

Bright sat on the green metal chair that was now barely green thanks to the years of wear and tear, stretching his legs on the table in front of him, while Oak proceeded to switch the TV on. "Do it fast man, it's almost time," Bright said. Oak chose to ignore him while typing in the channel number using the remote control. "Hey! Lower the volume to zero," Bright said as soon as the TV played the title music before the news starts, to which Oak let out a deep sigh. "Why do you even want to watch it when you can't keep the volume up?" Oak mumbled, which Bright clearly heard. "Do you want the women in the area to come and line up here to watch their favourite dramas like last time? The only thing they left here while going back was you, me and him," Bright retorted pointing at the guy who sat on a chair next to him, his head buried into a book.

"Son, Kongpop, do you have an exam tomorrow that you are so into that book? Can you please do your job now?" Bright said in a sarcastic tone, looking at the boy next to him, who now closed his book and kept it on the window side. Kongpop pulled the chair forward as Oak settled on the floor between him and Bright. "The crown prince's coronation to happen on June 1st," Kongpop read what was written on the news scroll and looked at Bright confused. "P', really? The palace?" Kongpop and Oak asked in unison, turning their gaze to Bright, who sat smiling and nodding his head. "See that?" Bright asked pointing at the screen that showed the coronation ceremony of the present king, who sat on the throne with a crown on his head and an embellished sceptre in his hand. "Wow P', are we going to steal the crown and the staff? Woah!! We are going to be damn rich!" Oak exclaimed. The next moment he earned another smack from Bright. "Rich my foot! Do you want to die?" Bright glared at Oak before getting up from where he sat and moved towards the tv. "This. I meant, let's steal this. I've already contacted an agent who has promised a good amount," Bright beamed, pointing at the diamond studded ring on the king's finger. "You want us to go and steal that from the king's finger?" Kongpop asked, raising his eyebrows and pointing at the TV screen. "No," Bright replied, waving his hand, "This family ring is passed on from the current king to his successor. In case the next coronation happens before the current king passes away, he  removes the ring weeks before the next coronation and it is kept in the special prayer room at the palace visited by monks to perform rituals. And we have to steal this by next Friday or at the most Saturday because the coronation is on Sunday," Bright explained. "And how do you plan to do that?" Oak asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Well, the palace is hiring extra security for the event from renowned agencies," Bright said. "You want me to go as a bodyguard?" Oak looked at Bright, his eyes wide, while Kongpop looked at the two in confusion. "Really? With that stick figure and assface of yours, even our neighbour P'May's ten-day old kid can guess that you are a fraud. I meant him, you idiot," Bright said gesturing at Kongpop. "Me?" Kongpop looked at Bright surprised. Being the literate one among them, Kongpop's role in every robbery that Bright and Oak committed so far was to read out the news scrolls or articles for them. This was the first time that Bright was giving him an actual role.

Did I hear it right? Did P'Bright just ask me to join him? Kongpop thought, looking confused. "Yes, you, Kong!" Bright said, turning Kongpop's suspicion into reality.