The Prince and The Thief

Six

"There's just one extra room," Tew said, his gaze shifting from Kongpop to the uninvited guest. Kong turned to his right, looking at Arthit, anticipating a response. Afterall, he's a prince who has been living a comfortable life so far. Kongpop wondered if he would be able to adjust in a room with him that would be may be as big as Arthit's wardrobe. "It's okay," Arthit replied, as if reading Kongpop's thoughts. "Here take this," Tew said, giving an extra blanket and pillow to Kongpop minutes after they entered the room. "There are fresh clothes in that packet. I will see you tomorrow," Tew said before leaving.

"Do you want to take a shower first?" Kongpop asked, taking out a pair of  clothes and a towel that Tew had brought for them. Arthit took the clothes from Kongpop and walked to the bathroom before locking the door. Kongpop stared at the closed door for sometime. Howmuchever he thought, he couldn't understand why Arthit would go with him and why Bright was calling him the dead prince. The clicking of the bathroom door brought Kongpop back to reality. The next moment, his eyes widened at the sight of the prince who stood in front of him, shivering, with just a brown towel wrapped around his waist. "What happened?" Kongpop asked, licking his now dry lips. "The water is cold," Arthit replied. Oh yeah! How could he forget? The prince might have had his bath prepared everyday. "Wait here, I'll come now," Kongpop said before going out. Few moments later, he returned with a bucket of hot water. He then walked to the bathroom and filled the empty bucket there with the hot water before mixing it with the tap water to make it the right temperature. "It's okay now," Kongpop said before getting out of the bathroom. As he heard the bathroom door close once again, Kongpop removed the coat he was wearing and loosened his tie. He then walked to the window and stood there, looking far into the horizon. He badly wanted to know about Oak and Bright. He couldn't even call them as he didn't have his mobile phone with him. One of the rules for entering the palace was not to use mobile phones. Kongpop put his hands in his trouser pockets, letting out a deep sigh. Suddenly his fingers touched something, making Kongpop's eyebrows furrow. His eyes widened at the sight of the ring in his hand that he stole from the palace few hours back. After all the hardwork, he had forgotten to give the ring to Bright. Kongpop remembered how he would have done his job better if Tutah and Aim hadn't come there at the moment. He was sure that the entire palace would be now looking for him and the missing prince he, presumably, kidnapped. The sound of the bathroom door opening alerted Kongpop. He swiftly put the ring back into his pocket and rushed to the bathroom with his clothes as soon as Arthit came out.

Arthit sat on the edge of the bed drying his hair. He was still wondering how he easily trusted this man he knew nothing of. In fact, Arthit didn't even know his name and from the look of it, he seemed to have committed something bad. Is he a robber? And what's that scar on his face? Arthit's mind was filled with different thoughts at the moment. "Aren't you asleep yet?" the other man's voice broke Arthit's thoughts. He nodded his head and then put the towel away before going back to lie on the bed. Arthit saw Kongpop putting the extra blanket and pillow on the floor. He wondered if he should ask him to sleep on the bed instead, but then dropped the idea. " Shall I switch off the lights, your highness?" he heard Kongpop ask. "Arthit, call me Arthit,' he replied, surprised at what he just said. Kongpop looked at Arthit, furrowing his eyebrows. Calling the prince by his name felt weird. Shouldn't he be using some kind of honorifics? Prince Arthit may be? Or P' or nong? No, no! That felt more weird. His thoughts broke at the sound of Arthit clearing his throat. Kongpop hurriedly switched off the lights before lying down.

"What's your name?" Arthit asked, few minutes later. "Kongpop," he answered. Arthit wanted to ask more questions, like why he was running away and many other things. But then he thought of saving it for later when they would be familiar with each other. "How old are you?" Kongpop asked this time, while turning to face the prince. "I'm 24, and you?" Arthit replied. "I'm 20," Kongpop said to which Arthit nodded his head. Both didn't know what more to ask. They lay looking at each other in silence for sometime. Soon sounds of soft breathing could be heard from the room as sleep embraced both of them.