NaraSeth: A Historic Romance (MxM)

Betrayal

ไม่มีอะไรสายเกินแก้  It is never too late to mend anything.

He looked at the cupboard of ceremonial ornaments and makeup left untouched since the day Nara had left the chamber. He ran his hands over the heavy diamond atop the chest jewelry. 

"I cannot think of one but your hatred for me as a reason Nara", he spoke to himself as he sat down at the edge of the bed. Naga stopped as he found the King in the chamber after looking for him for half an hour. 

"Your Majesty..", Naga started but was interrupted.

"The boy. I think he's fine"

"Your Majesty, the kingdom of Mua is advancing towards  our borders. We must fortify our borders and prepare defenses. Especially since our treasury is..."

"When I saw the body I could tell. I know him better than anyone. That wasn't him.."

"Your Majesty, there are more pressing matters right now"

"What is wrong with you Naga?"

Naga frowned upon hearing the words, not knowing if he should be angry or sympathetic. 

"Are you jealous? Do you take me for a fool to not notice how you glance at me sometimes?" He shouted. Naga took a step back looking to the ground. 

"How dare you, some low born foreigner even dream of someone so out of your reach?" Naga clenched his teeth, not being able to contain his anger anymore. 

"And you, Your Majesty? How well within your reach is Nara, if not for your position?" In a second, the royal slippers had landed on the metal sheath above his chest which was sure leave a bruise later. He stumbled backward onto the ground. 

"Get out! Never come back again!" Thasit shouted. Naga pulled himself back up, his eyes teary, his jawline squeezed from biting down his teeth hard. He looked at Thasit standing with his back faced to him. He bowed one last time as the Royal Commander, to the King. One last time. 

***

It had been a whole day since Nara had been out of his sight. He had been nervous before but nothing could compare to how disturbing this was. He clutched his racing heart, reassuring it that Nara was safe. He flinched as the door to his room slammed shut behind him. He turned around, his hands grasped around the sheath of the dagger beneath his vest. He had been carrying it ever since chiburi had been found. His awareness more or less turning into fear every minute he breathed. He relaxed his grip upon finding Naga at his doorstep. 

"I need your help", Naga spoke. 

***
Nara sat at the window which could barely be called one. It was more of a larger peephole placed higher along the wall so only the eyes of the person were visible from outside. Nara sighed as he looked out, his eyes being able to see the shades of green as it had long adjusted to the harrowing darkness and eerie silence. As he grew bored he turned around walking to the fabric divider lavishly painted with the Eight Views of Ryukyu, the early kingdom in Japan. He stared at it for a long time until it was imprinted in his mind. 

***

He looked at the miniature model of the grand city laid out in front of him. 

"This is mine in a matter of days", he spoke for the court to hear. The ministers cheered loud for the King, "Long live King Banayyi, Long live the Kingdom of Mua". 

He called aside the royal commander as the meeting had come to a close. They walked back through a wide wooden corridor as they talked. 

"Have they reached yet?" He asked and watched with curiosity as the Commander smiled.

"Earlier than we expected, Your Highness. Shall we go take a look?" The man said proudly as he gestured to the exit of the room. The two men followed by some closely associated ministers and the King's guards, walked towards the open courtyard. The pond in the midst glittered in the sunlight; a white marble statue of Buddha in the middle of it. They walked out of the main foyer to a smaller corridor which led to an alley outdoors. It concluded at a heavily guarded large wooden gate. The soldiers moved away after opening the gate as they watched the King and his men approach. They walked in to what looked like an ordinary village, small straw huts but with strong doors. 

"Finally!", King Banayyi spoke as he pushed open the door to one hut revealing heaps of crates stacked one over another. A minister followed in, lifting the lid to a crate revealing gold and silver coins of Ayutthaya, statues, figurines and jewelry worth much more than they had expected. The Commander was joined by a Secret Guard outside the hut, whispering something into his ears. 

"The end of Ayutthaya will be of my hands", the King spoke as the ministers reemphasized the King's greatness. The Commander stepped in and the King looked eagerly. 

"We have established contact. They say there's an heir. What do you think?" The royal commander asked as he leaned in towards the King away from the ministers. 

"For now, we could give him the Kingdom", the King responded. The words set in brittle stone. 

***

Clouds rumbled in the distance announcing the onset of an untimely rain. They sat in the faint light of a dimmed lantern. 

"So what do you want me to do?" Seth asked, the confusion in his mind pretty visible on his face. 

"We need to save the kingdom"

"We?"

"Since your involvement with chiburi is already known, you don't have to be so condescending"

Seth chuckled at Naga's remarks and stretched out his legs, leaning back on the wall. 

"You must think we're a joke. To think that we would help the one was was responsible for killing us?" Naga shifted in his position as he grew uncomfortable. 

"Well, it is what the situation demanded"

"So, you will be back to killing us when the situation demands"

"That's not what I-", Naga stopped for a while, sighing. 

"I lost the favor of the king. He doesn't want to see me again"

"Oh, a lover's quarrel. How cute!"

"Ayuseth! I'm being serious here"

"Fine. What do we get in return?"

"Army support. At least a few thousands of them", Naga replied without a second thought. 

"How quickly can you mobilize them?"

"A few weeks"

"The Mua army would be here before that"

"The Mua army? Wait, what do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said", Ayuseth looked at him, puzzled as to why he it wasn't already obvious. he continued, "you think the chiburi alone could take down the King?"

"That's not a rebellion then. It's war"

"It was never meant to be a mere rebellion anyway"

"You're planning on overthrowing and killing the King?"

"Undoubtedly", Seth confirmed with no hint of remorse. Naga stood up and walked to the window, visibly frustrated. 

"You know, is there any way we could renegotiate the terms with the Mua aristocracy?"

"And why would we do that?"

"Can we not kill the King?"

"When this ends, the King will be a prisoner of Mua. What they do with his is none of our concern. We do save the kingdom!" Ayuseth spoke as he thought back on the conversation with the Mua leaders. King Banayyi had his reasons and nothing after the past incident could change his hatred for Thasit and his ministers. The end had already been scripted. Naga looked down at the dagger in his scabbard, one that indicated so much more than loyalty. He looked out the window at the main palace. His intent was set that night. He had to save the King no matter what went down.