It's a Love Story [OffGun]

Prologue: Garden and Beach

Off always remembered the first time he entered the castle, or the first time he met Gun, the prince of Thailand.

Off's father was an influential businessman. Before he became one, he was an old friend of the King, and received a lot of help from him during hard economic times. After the business of Off's father became successful, and he paid back all the money he owed the King, he still wanted to pay him back for his kindness. Off's father got more than just a large sum of money from the King, he also received the opportunity to start his business over, which allowed him to meet his wife, and years of friendship which he felt more than grateful for having.

When the King's announcement of his search for a personal guard for the prince reached his ear, he gladly brought Off to the castle. Off's father didn't know what to do when his wife indicated that she prefered to stay in Thailand, when he brought up the idea of them moving to France for his business. When he found out the reason was that she was just worried about Off having to face cultural shocks and adjust to a new environment at such a young age, he talked to her about the King's announcement. In the end, they both agreed to let off stay in the castle as the prince's personal guard. The King accepted Off and gave him the position as Off met most of the requirements. Age. Male. Polite. Obedient. Independent.

When his father brought him to the castle early in the morning, to say Off was intimidated would be an understatement. He stood stiffly next to his father and holded his hand tight.

"Hey old friend!" a man who Off assumed to be the King came to greet them. He was covered in a red robe with patterns and ornaments of gold. Off was shocked by the casualness in the King's words. His father had repeatedly told him to behave in the castle while they were on their way, so he was only expecting formality to be the thing in the castle.

"Your Majesty! Long time no see!"

Off watched from the side as his father and the King embraced each other. When the King's eyes landed on him, Off suddenly remembered what his father taught him to do.

"Your Majesty, I'm Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn. I will be the prince's new personal guard" Off bowed as he said the words.

"Such a polite young man. I'm sure you'll be a great personal guard for the prince. Let me take you two to meet him" the King replied.

Off followed behind the King with his father, up the stairs which radiated nothing but grandeur, and down the long corridor. Off liked the marble floor more than the paintings on the wall.

They stopped in front of a chamber with the words "Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat" engraved on the door.

"I'm sorry. He's probably still sleeping" the King said as he opened the door to the room.

Off was surprised when he entered the room. It was three times as large as his at home. He really liked the curtains. They were in light turquoise.

"You're seven right? Gun is two years younger than you."

Off's focus quickly shifted from the curtains to the King. He nodded with his lips tightly pursed.

Then, the small figure under the blanket began the stir. The young prince rubbed his eyes after seeing the strong streams of sunshine through the window.

"Daddy?" the young prince said as he tried to sit up, holding his baby giraffe stuffed animal.

"Gun, this is Off, your new personal guard I told you about a few days ago. And his father." The King spoke.

The young prince peeked at the two said men and waved at them shyly. He had never met anyone other than his family, the maids, and the guards of the castle.

"Your Highness, I'm Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn. I will be your new personal guard." Off said eloquently as this was the second time he was introducing himself today. He adjusted quickly to new environments.

Upon hearing what Off said, the young prince immediately ducked behind his baby giraffe, not used to someone around his age addressing him as "Your Highness." The guards and maids greeted him with that all the time, but this time was different. He had not been outside of the castle's gate before, and had never met a boy around his age. Hiding behind his giraffe, he was actually quite excited to meet his personal guard.

The King soon left the chamber with Off's father to discuss future plans for Off to stay in the castle. Body combat classes, defense classes, classes for all areas of knowledge, meals, living, and all that stuff.

Off stood awkwardly near the middle of the room, while the young prince still sat on his bed.

"Umm I'm Gun. You can call me Gun... ohh and this is Baby Giraffe" the young prince who decided to break the silence, looked shyly at Off.

"Umm okay..." Off hesitated, then went on to say, "But my father said I cannot call people in the castle by their names. It is forbidden." With a smile, he added, "And Baby Giraffe is cute by the way."

Gun didn't know how to reply, but he didn't care too much about names either. He can call me whatever he wants. At least he likes my giraffe too.

"Baby Giraffe said thank you!" Gun smiled back. He then started examining Off's face. "Your eyes are small" Gun blurted out whatever that just came to his mind, and giggled.

Off didn't feel offended by his comment. The prince is so straightforward. "My mother has small eyes too. I guess I got them from her." Off smiled as his eyes turned into two thin crescents.

I like him. He seems nice. "Ohh~" Gun jumped off his bed and walked toward Off. He grabbed Off's hand, and pulled him toward the opposite side of where the bed is located in the room. "Come on, let's play lego!"

Off found his sudden invitation to play lego interesting. He thought everyone in the castle would be strict, and he didn't quite like the idea of becoming the prince's personal guard when his father first told him about it. Now he was starting to like this idea. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

"Yes, I love lego!"

The two boys sat on the embroidered carpet near the far end corner of the room. They laughed and talked as they each tried to build their own things. Lego soon allowed them to change from strangers to friends, or at least that was what Gun thought. Off had to constantly remind himself that he himself is Gun's personal guard, and that Gun is the prince.

Gun added many pieces of brown and green, and all sorts of colors to his lego board. At the same time, Off only used the yellow and blue pieces.

"What is that?" Gun asked as he pointed to Off's finished product.

"It's a beach. My parents took me there each year for my birthday. I love it there!" Off shared excitedly.

"A beach? I've never been to one before." Gun tilted his head and looked at Off with his big round eyes.

"Whattt?! How can you have not? It's so fun there!"

"Umm... I've never been outside this castle." Gun looked down.

Off can see the hint of disappointment in Gun's eyes before he looked down. Everyone deserves to go see the beach! "It's okay... We can go there one day. I'll tell you all about it if you want!"

"Really?!" Gun screamed with joy and widened his glistening eyes. He hugged Off tightly as Off patted his head.

"Yeah! Tell me about your lego too. Is it curry?" Off questioned curiously.

"Nooo! It's a garden!!!" Gun let go his hands around Off's shoulders and showed an expression of disbelief.

"Ohh sorry... You put a lot of brown pieces there so I thought it's curry" Off smiled sheepishly and gave an apologetic look.

Gun chuckled at Off's reaction, and went on to explain, "It's a garden!"

The brown pieces must be the mud, Off thought. "Ohh wait. I can see how it's a garden!"

"How could you say it's curry!!"

"Ohh umm... why did you build a garden?" Off quickly asked because he couldn't come up with an excuse at the moment.

"Well, I just really like flowers. They look pretty, and they smell good!"