The Prince and The Thief

Fourteen

Arthit, who was half awake now, adjusted himself on the bed. But the unusually hard pillow made him frown. He raised his head to take a good look at the pillow and gaped. He didn't need to think twice to guess whose hand it was. Arthit turned his head to the right and smiled seeing Kongpop fast asleep next to him. Last night as they got to the room after dinner, Kongpop had said that he would sleep on the floor. Arthit, equally embarassed from what happened before, had let him be. As he took many hours to finally fall asleep, Arthit had realised that he was getting used to Kongpop's warmth. He had wondered if Kongpop missed sleeping next to him too and there he had the answer in front of him as soon as he woke up.

Arthit lied down, his head resting on Kongpop's arm stretched across Arthit's pillow, gazing fondly at the sleeping man in front of him and the next moment, he could feel his heartbeats rise. Not getting enough of it, Arthit snuggled closer to Kongpop, letting his head rest on the latter's left chest and an arm around his waist. Arthit smiled as he silently listened to Kongpop's heartbeats that were at the same pace as his. This felt warm, nice, comfortable that Arthit wished to freeze the moment if he could. But the next moment, his face fell on remembering Kongpop's words from the previous day. He had to return to the palace some day. They could never be together even if they wished. Arthit pressed his lips into a thin line and sighed at the thought. He regretted being born a prince all of a sudden. Sighing once again, he moved himself up to get a better view of Kongpop's face. Even if it was for a day, he wanted to memorise everything about the person next to him. Maybe he could live the rest of his life with those memories. Arthit raised his hand and gently touched Kongpop's cheek, slowly rubbing it with his thumb. The next moment, he leaned forward and kissed Kongpop's forehead, closing his eyes and letting his lips rest there for a while, savouring the moment.

Kongpop stirred in his sleep feeling something wet touch his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes and gasped seeing Arthit's face upclose. He could see Arthit gulp and look everywhere else, but at him. Kongpop licked his now dry lips, on suddenly realising that he was on the bed. Last night, he had tossed and turned a number of times trying to fall asleep, his discomfort  making him realise that he was, by now, too used to having the someone in his arms every night. Finally when he had had enough of the rolling over, Kongpop slowly climbed on the bed and raised the sleeping Arthit's head, letting it rest on his hand before falling asleep.

On realising that Arthit was moving away, Kongpop suddenly grabbed him by his nape. "Kong," Arthit whispered, surprised at the sudden action. "P'Arthit," Kongpop called softly, making Arthit look at him, disbelief written in his eyes at what he just heard. The next moment, Kongpop raised his head and touched Arthit's lips with his before moving his head back to see the latter's reaction. Arthit stayed still, looking at Kongpop trying to figure out whether these moments were happening for real. Seeing Kongpop's anticipating eyes,  Arthit touched his shoulders, gently pressing them, allowing Kongpop's head to rest on the pillow. Kongpop furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and the next moment, his eyes shot up in surprise seeing Arthit move his face closer to his before their lips met for the second time. Both closed their eyes, deepening the kiss every passing moment, their tongues exploring every corner of each other's mouths until a sudden knock at the door startled both. Arthit jumped out of the bed at the second knock and rushed to the bathroom, grabbing the towel on the chair. Kongpop, on the other hand, sat up on the bed, his hand on his mouth, trying his best to steady his breath. "Kong, are you still sleeping?" Tew's voice from outside broke his trance. "Coming P'," Kongpop replied before getting off the bed to walk to the door. "Come and have breakfast," Tew said as soon as Kongpop opened the door. "Yes P', I'll freshen up and join you," Kongpop replied. "Okay, make it fast, I'm hungry," Tew said before turning and walking away. Kongpop closed the door and on turning around, stood rooted to his spot, his heart running a marathon, seeing Arthit in just a towel around his waist in front of him. "I...I forgot to take my clothes before going in," Arthit reasoned, seeing Kongpop's intense gaze. Kongpop frantically nodded his head in reply before grabbing a towel from the table and walking off mumbling, "It's okay, you can change here."

Both of them walked to the breakfast table in silence and heads lowered, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, the voice of a news reporter, coming from the TV grabbed their attention. Arthit and Kongpop entered the living room, their eyes fixed on the TV screen, which now showed the king dressed in official clothes, sitting by a table with microphones from different new channels in front of him, accompanied by his men. "You may have many questions regarding the recent report by journalist Prem. So I thought it would be better if I answer them directly than letting any officials represent me. You have 30 minutes," the king said. "Your highness, is it true that the crown prince's death wasn't because of any illness?" a reporter asked to which the king cleared his throat before opening his mouth to answer. "The claim that the photograph was taken two days before the prince's death is not true. The prince was ill and he had not gone out of his room for weeks," the king said. Kongpop turned to see Arthit staring at the screen expressionless at what the king just said. "I'm fine. I'm used to it," he said, without turning, feeling Kongpop's gaze on him. Kongpop nodded his head in reply, before turning to face the TV screen. "Your highness, the bodyguard gone missing and the palace maid being shot to death soon after the crown prince's death, don't these point towards a possible attempt to get rid of people close to the crown prince?" Another reporter asked. "The bodyguard was also a good friend to the crown prince. So when the prince passed away, he had quite a hard time and few days after, he resigned. As for the palace maid, she was the one who always took care of the prince. Maybe his death affected her so much that she took her own life that day," the king explained. Seeing Kongpop grit his teeth and clench his fists on hearing that, Arthit moved closer to him and put an arm around his shoulder, trying to calm him down. Kongpop took the clue and took a deep breath before continuing to watch the press conference. "Your highness, the audio recording with the report said the death of the queen was due to arsenic poisoning. Is it true that someone in the palace was responsible for her death?" another reporter asked. "Let's not jump into conclusions. The authenticity of the audio clip has to be checked first to make sure that it is indeed the doctor's voice. If it is, investigations would be carried out," the king replied. "Okay, your allotted time is over. Thank you," the palace staff announced as the king got up and walked towards the exit.

Arthit and Kongpop looked at each other with mixed emotions before they were called to have breakfast by Tew. They sat silently at the table, drowned in thoughts. After seeing Tew move away to do the dishes, Arthit turned to Kongpop. "What do we do now?" he asked. "I don't know. P'Bright said that the reporter is in hiding or something. I don't know if there's any other way for us to go back," Kongpop replied, his voice reflecting disappointment. "But I think the quicker, the better. I don't know what they'll do next," Arthit said to which Kongpop sighed. "What if I help you?" Tew's voice startled both of them who looked at the man in a floral print shirt and khakhi trousers in front of them, eyes widened. "P', you knew?" Kongpop asked to which Tew smiled. "Yeah, I didn't mean to but I kind of heard your conversation that day when the news about the report came. If you had told me earlier, I would have treated him better," Tew said, pointing at Arthit. "I'll arrange for your stay until you find the reporter. You'll be able to leave in two days," he said to which Arthit and Kongpop looked at each other and nodded their heads. After Tew left to make a phone call, both sighed in unison. The day has finally come. In two days, Arthit would go back to being the prince and Kongpop, back to the slums. After breakfast, both walked to the room in silence, feeling the wall of differences already building between them.