[AN: Previous chapter: Meyer discovered that Ohm's killer is a Thanakun. He vents his anger on Gulf.
This is Gavin's version.]
19: The Queen's Threat
Gavin woke up at noon, a few hours after Meyer whispered that he'll be returning to his condo. His sleep was disturbed by his faithful bodyguard who was knocking urgently on his door.
He groaned. The hot noon sunlight from the window hit his face. He was not used to this. Meyer usually slides the curtain when he wakes up. He should be here by now, but where is he?
"Prince Gavin, please wake up. King and queen at the entrance."
He immediately jumped from the bed in an attempt to freshen himself. The king rarely visits the south wing. In fact, he had only visited on the same year that they had thrown him here. But to be accompanied by the queen? Gavin knew there's some serious matter to be discussed.
He had just finished washing his face and putting on proper clothes, when the door was opened by Zee, as slowly as he possibly can, for the highest monarchs to enter.
"King, queen." He bowed at them and hastily glanced where the queen was looking at. He mentally cursed. His bed was nowhere near tidy. She sighed.
"Noon, and just woke up?" the queen sneered. Meanwhile, the king roamed around the room. Gavin's heart skipped a beat as the king kicked lightly a silk bathrobe on the floor that Meyer wore the night before.
"Um, can I do anything for you?" he asked nervously.
Nobody spoke, and only the queen's disgust for Gavin's choice of furniture can be heard. The king continued roaming around, toeing or poking random stuff. He picked up a small colorful box which he thought was a cigarette pack in disguise and emptied it.
Random band-aids fell on the table, littering Gavin's paperwork.
"I've received word that you're hiding something in the palace." The king said.
"Hiding something?" he frowned.
The king sat on the couch and slammed an envelope on the table. Gavin picked it up and almost had a heart attack as he saw his own face smiling at Meyer. He examined another photo, taken inside the palace garden: him strolling with Meyer during one time it rained and couldn't go out. And... his heart almost leaped out of his mouth: a photo of them with Zee exploring Asia town during one of their secret dates.
Pretending to be calm, he placed the photos back on the table and put on a questioning face.
"I don't understand, your majesty. What am I hiding?"
"You still won't admit it?" the queen scoffed.
"I'm just walking with my bodyguards, that's all." Gavin said.
Internally, he was cursing. Who dared to photograph his private moments and leak them? He thought his staff would at least be respectful or scared of exposing him. But then again, if they were forced by someone higher, then his relationship is on the line.
"Walking? You're not supposed to wander anywhere aside from school. See, King Sev? This is why I'm against Gavin's practicum." The queen said.
Gavin didn't speak. He'd rather be punished for breaking stupid royal laws they created for him than endanger Meyer's status.
"He should stop going out!" the queen suggested.
He would not be restrained anymore. Going out had lessened his sense of suffocation. For once he felt normal.
"Why should I stop going out?" he asked politely, but the queen looked scandalized.
"Why? In the first place, your existence shouldn't be out in the open -"
"Emilia! When will you accept that Gavin is part of the family, huh?"
"Never! He's the most humiliating thing you have ever forced on all of us!"
"He is my son and you should accept that!" the king said firmly.
"Son from a lowly mistress. Nobody would accept that!" The queen said.
Personally, Gavin can understand how the queen feels, but right now, the matter is about his freedom. If this was just about him going out without royal permission, then they should be fine. They must not know that those pictures have a deeper meaning.
"This is why I don't like you coming with me. Just go back. Train that spineless teenager. Rianne is a girl. Kao is a coward, Phuwin is a brat."
"Are you telling me that you would like a half monarch to govern after you?"
"Please don't fight, King Seven, Queen Emilia." Gavin bowed again. For once, he agrees with the queen. He has no desire to govern a country and be under the eyes of every citizen.
"Kao is going to marry by the end of the year. I am sick and I plan to retire soon, and Kao is just not ready yet." The king said. "I want you to condition yourself in case you need to take your seat."
"If Prince Kao isn't ready, then so am I, King Sev. With all due respect, I have no knowledge of being a leader."
"And you have no right anyway!" the queen pointed at him.
"Enough!" the king said. "I just went here to check on you. You might as well return to the north wing with us so you can be trained. Enough of these unwarranted expeditions of yours."
"Please, King Sev. I prefer it here. Prince Kao is more appropriate for the throne. He has vast experience and is well-loved by the people."
"He's too soft. I already gave him the freedom to study at a university. Had I not picked Opal for him, he wouldn't even dare talk to her. I don't need a successor who hesitates."
"My son is your successor. There is no one else but him and Phuwin." The queen said.
"I am not fit to be king, King Sev." Gavin added.
"I don't want to hear it. If after his marriage, Kao still isn't performing up to standard, you will be the next on the throne."
"The eldest son is the first in line, King Sev. Even you cannot contradict that." Said the queen, her voice shaking. "Kao will be the next king, and I will give up my life than be under the rule of your bastard son."
"Your purpose is to produce my heirs, and none of them are worthy!"
Gavin's heart was beating wildly again. It is highly important that he tell him he has no desire to be a king. He's getting scared of how red the queen was turning, a sign that she's about to give him some kind of punishment that is probably worse than whipping. She will never back down. This is the king directly insulting her in front of him and the bodyguards.
"King Seven, Prince Kao has plenty of potentials. I'm sure he can do it. I can't. I am not the correct person for the throne." Gavin said, glancing at the queen. "He can be trained, and he's always passionate about what he does. Please think about it first, or talk to him. I'm sure he will listen to what you expect from him."
The king stood up and glared at both of them. "This is not about your decisions, Gavin. This is about mine. Condition yourself." He left, followed by his bodyguards.
The queen, however, sneered at him. From her pocket, she picked an even smaller envelope than what the king showed him earlier. She slapped it on his face.
Gavin opened it, took out a picture, and felt his knees weaken.
"I don't consider you as a monarch. But since the king insists that you should stay in the palace, dating a lowly bodyguard on royal territory is a crime." She whispered so that it's only them who can hear.
Gavin's hands were shaking. On his hand is a picture also taken at Asia town, of him kissing Meyer's cheek. He remembered this moment. It was a quick peck on the cheek, and since both of them have face masks on, he could deny it and claim that it's just a whisper. But he knows that the queen knows. She knows there's something between him and Meyer. He looked up.
"Kao should be the next king. If it's true that you don't want the throne, then fine. Just go away. Get lost. Die if you need to. Don't ever cross paths with me, don't ever compete with Kao to be a ruler, or I will expose that picture to the king."
Gavin tried hard not to cry. The queen had trapped him.
She turned to her own bodyguard who nodded and stepped forward.
"Fifty whips on his back for being a disgusting rule-breaker." She said, and then left.
"I'm sorry, Prince Gavin." The bodyguard bowed first. Gavin sat on the edge of his bed and the whipping started. Zee watched and closed his fists tightly as Gavin received lashes. How awful to be whipped just because of loving a mere commoner.
"25, 26, 27."
Gavin could feel his back getting hotter. The shirt he was wearing was getting stickier and he knows there's blood on it. The queen's bodyguard was aiming at different areas so that it won't be too deep. He was also half-heartedly whipping.
"38, 39, 40."
He must warn Meyer. He was already bent double from the pain, but it was nothing compared to the fear he was feeling. The queen has something against him.
"50."
The bodyguard stopped, bowed down, and left.
Zee immediately run to him and helped removed his shirt. Gavin can barely lift his arms. His body was aching so bad. In a minute, the clinic staff rushed to his side after Zee called them. His back had overlapping red lines with blood on them. He winced as they cleaned his wound and patched him up.
"Who is it?" he whispered.
"Your majesty?"
"Who dare betray me in this palace?" he said with a shaking voice. There was no other explanation as to why the queen had photos of him. Who dared expose his private life?
They left after making sure that Gavin didn't need anything else. Zee wanted to beat himself up again. How can he call himself a bodyguard if he can't spot a paparazzi? At this point, he knew his career was over. He only had one job: to protect the prince. And it all came crumbling because of a picture.
"Where the heck is Meyer?" Gavin murmured. He and Zee took turns calling him, but he isn't answering. He was worried.
"What if Hermes got him again?" Gavin panicked.
"Calm down, prince. Please rest first. Your wounds are still bleeding."
"I don't have any other options. The queen wants me out."
"Then, what would be your next move?"
Gavin's eyes were unfocused. He was staring at his reflection in the mirror.
"I have to leave the palace."
"But... I mean no disrespect. She's just the queen. If you tell this to the king -"
"The king shouldn't know. He pushed Opal towards Kao so he can have a bride. He wants me as the next king. What do you think he'll do to Meyer if he finds out? He might execute him and also find a girl for me."
"Prince Gavin. Think more about it. Are you really throwing away your title just to be with Meyer? This is a serious issue, prince!" Zee said.
Gavin rubbed the multiple whips on his back. Giving up his title would mean no support from the palace. No lavish lifestyle, no chefs feeding him, no doctors instantly checking his health, no bodyguards, no servants. He is not used to that at all. He likes people serving him. He loves being in control. He loves giving commands. If he steps down as a prince, he will lose the life he was accustomed to.
He breathed in and out slowly. His back felt swollen, and every small move he makes was painful. If he leaves, he has to tend for himself.
"Prince?" Zee observed him, for he was very pale.
"You're free now, Zee. You don't have to look over a spoiled prince. Go take employment elsewhere. You've been a good bodyguard to me. I am thankful."
For the first time since he worked at the palace, Zee wanted to cry.
"Are you really going to do this, Prince Gavin? Meyer is a commoner, remember. Whether you take up the position or not, the king will never approve of your relationship. Will you really step down?"
He fiddled with the bracelet that his boyfriend gave him. Three months into their relationship and he felt nothing but happiness and love.
"He's worth it."
"Then, wherever you go, I will follow you, Prince Gavin." Zee, his loyal bodyguard bowed.
And now that they left an angry Meyer's apartment, Zee held the prince tight as he cried. They left the palace for nothing. Meyer didn't want Gavin. In an ugly twist of fate, who would have thought that Meyer's beloved brother was killed by a Thanakun?
Zee didn't like it at all.
The prince had thrown away his whole identity for the boyfriend who doesn't like him anymore. Now, they are on the dark street, looking like they were chased out of an apartment. Gavin's things amounted to only 2 huge backpacks. He was optimistic as he left the palace, thinking that he'll manage somehow as long as Meyer sticks to his side.
"How did this happen?" Gavin muttered.
Zee was feeling uncomfortable. To guard a prince in unknown territory is already hard, but to do it at night is even harder. Emotions are running high as well. They are wearing disguises, but they can't hide like this forever.
"Prince Gavin, what if we go back? It's not yet too late. No one's contacted me yet. They might not have noticed you left."
"No. I don't want to go back." Gavin was so ashamed. Of himself, for easily leaving the prince life for a man he dated for just three months. Of his family who is allegedly involved in a crime. He can't think of anything right now. Going back means he will turn a blind eye towards Meyer's brother's killer.
"Prince, we have nowhere to go. You can stay at my apartment, but it's very small. Do you want me to book a hotel room?"
They both were on alert as a fancy car stopped in front of them. The window rolled down, and a gleaming smile greeted them.
"You seem to need help, Prince Gavin."
He recognized them even if they were disguised. The youngest son of the Nattapol family lowered his sunglasses and gave Gavin a mock bow.
"I'm always willing to help." Max Nattapol winked at him and offered his hand.
[AN: What now?]