“Hey,” Boun says, waving a hand in front of Earth’s face. “Ai’Earth?”
They were standing in a random corner of the huge room, gushing over every important person they saw. The waiters with trays of hors d’oeuvres already knew to come to them first, and anyone could tell that they were the ones having the most fun. Well, except maybe for Earth.
“I thought you were excited about the open bar? Prem and I have gone back like three times and you’re still working on that one glass of champagne? What’s wrong?”
“Yeah,” Prem says, his cheeks starting to show signs of a pink flush. “Your mood totally changed.”
Boun drapes his long arm over Earth’s shoulders and chuckles. “Are you worried about Fluke? I knew it. Underneath all that sass, you’re just another softie, aren’t you?”
“Of course not! Leave me alone and eat your escargot, there’s a whole tray of them coming over here now,” Earth says, shrugging Boun’s arm off.
“Escargot? You can have them all to yourself this time, P’Boun. I’m adventurous with food but I think I draw the line at snails – even if they’re free,” Prem says, faking a gagging gesture.
“Why are we talking about snails, no one is going to eat snails okay?” Boun replies, making a polite declining gesture to the waiter. “Come on, Earth. What is it? You know I’m not gonna let this go until you tell me.”
The young man rolls his eyes and sighs, resigned to his fate. “Fine. That guy who came to greet us was kind of a dick.”
“Huh? K’Kao?” Prem asks, scratching the back of his head. “He seemed really nice to me.”
“Really? Didn’t he seem like he was being mean or whatever? He’s cute and all that, but he looked at me from head to toe, and NO ONE can look at me from head to toe, except for my Mom… And maybe Mariah Carey but she’s my Mom, too, so...”
“He was just probably figuring out how to police your outfit,” Boun replies, trying to reach for Earth’s bowtie with his free hand. “I told you not to wear that pin.”
“Hey! This is an expression of my individuality! Did you ever see Lady Gaga go to an event looking like everybody else? Of course not. This pin is my meat dress. Besides, why are you taking his side? Aren’t you always screaming ‘F the Monarchy’?”
“SHHH,” Boun says, his eyes wide with panic. “Don’t say that HERE. Do you really want me to get arrested or something?”
“If it’ll make you leave my pin and I alone, then YEAH,” Earth replies, rolling his eyes.
“I don’t know, Earth… I think you may have gotten it all wrong about K’Kao,” Prem says.
“What makes you say that?”
“Look,” Prem says, lightly patting Earth’s cheek. “I just met you and I usually don’t meddle in people’s lives, but I’m a little tipsy, and this is a special night. That wasn’t a look of scorn, my dude. He was checking you out.”
“He was not.”
“Holy crap… I knew he looked familiar! Isn’t he the guy that was with the Prince when he went to the café? The one you couldn’t stop gushing about for days?” Boun says, grabbing Earth’s arm in excitement. “We better go after him! Someone liking you back is damn-near impossible! We can’t let him get away!”
“Would you stop grabbing me?? You’re wrinkling my suit!” Earth whisper-shouts.
“Calm down, guys, that old guy is giving us the stink eye,” Prem mutters under his breath as discreetly as he could.
The trio looked over at the direction Prem was nodding at and sure enough, the most stuck-up looking elder was looking at them sternly. They instinctively bow and mouth their apologies, with Earth rolling his eyes as soon as the old man looked away.
“This is one of the happiest days in the country, and he’s treating the Palace like the Public Library.”
“Cheer up, Earth,” Boun teases, wagging his eyebrows up and down. “Looks like Fluke isn’t the only one who’s going to find love tonight.”
“Whatever, I’m getting another glass,” he answers, walking towards the bar.
The young man couldn’t help surveying the room as he strode through it. He kept telling himself that he was making mental notes of who was there for when he films his story time vlog, but that was a lie. There was only one person that he was looking for. What if Boun and Prem were right? There was only one way to know for sure, but why was he so terrified to find out?
****
Kao regrets wearing brand new dress shoes tonight. Being on your feet in new shoes for five hours and counting isn’t a pleasant experience. He tries not to think about the way the leather is pinching his ankle and instead turns his focus on what he is doing at the moment: standing guard. Prince Ohm gave him very, very specific instructions not to let anyone or anything interrupt this moment for him and the Aide was going to do just that.
“Big day,” the King says. “I’m surprised that you have the time to stand around here.”
The Aide looks up, startled that someone was even there in the first place, let alone the King.
“Oh. Just making sure that I’m easily reached by the Prince if he needs something, Your Majesty,” he says, bowing. “Is there anything that I can do for you?”
“I’d like to speak to Fluke. Is he in there?”
When Kao promised himself that he wouldn’t let anyone barge in, he didn’t think he would have to stand in the way of the ruler of the country. Tension between the King and the new royal couple was well-known within the Palace walls, and Kao was growing more and more nervous about this exchange.
“Yes, Your Majesty. He is, b-but… I mean, he just got here and the Prince… Uh…”
“He’s asking Fluke to marry him right now, isn’t he?”
“Uh,” Kao stammers, unsure of what to say.
“It’s okay, Nong. I’m not going to storm in there and stop them. As a matter of fact, we just gave Ohm the Royal engagement ring.”
“You d-did?”
The King smiles at the frantic look on Kao’s face. “I have a question to ask you. Answer me sincerely.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
“Out of everyone that surrounds him, you’re the one that knows Ohm the best. Is he happy? With Fluke, is he happy?”
The sincerity in the King’s eyes throws him off-guard. “I’ve never seen him as happy as he is right now, Your Majesty.”
The King seems too moved to give a reply right away. He takes a few seconds to compose himself, clearing his throat before responding.
“That’s all I wanted to know. Thank you.”
Kao nods tentatively, unsure of how to act around the King in such a tender moment. In all his years of service, this has never happened to him before.
“Our Ohm is entering a new phase in his life… It would probably do you well to start doing the same, K’Kao. We’re grateful for you but you can’t let your life revolve around us.”
“In times like these, I can see the similarities between you and Prince Ohm, Your Majesty. He tells me that often as well,” Kao replies.
“You know what they say, the more people say the same thing to you, the more you should probably listen…”
The Aide smiles. “That domestic sort of life isn’t for me, Your Majesty. I’m happy being of service here.”
“Son, you know that you can have it both ways, right? If Ohm and I can do it, so can you. Think about it,” the King says, patting the young man’s shoulder assuringly as he started to walk away. “Don’t tell Ohm that I came by just now. I’ll talk to Fluke some other time. See you out there.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.”
It was embarrassing to admit, but he truly had never thought of it that way before. Both? Why did they seem to think that he could do both? These new fanciful ideas running through his mind were cut short by the familiar sound of static coming from his earpiece.
“This is the five-minute call. Repeat, this is the five-minute call. Please lead the assets to their places, over.”
“Roger that,” he responds, into the tiny microphone in his cufflink.
He turns around and opens the door that he was so fiercely guarding a moment ago, praying that he wasn’t interrupting anything.
“Sirs,” he says, reluctantly popping his head in. “It’s time.”
****
Finally, Earth started to enjoy himself like he usually did - maybe even more. The evening was turning out to be one of the happiest of his life, being so close to the people he’d only seen on television or pictures. But even without all the notable people surrounding them, he had never been in such a well-dressed room before. It was almost tiring to look closely at every element of clothing that these people were showcasing. This would probably be the closest he would get to a high-profile fashion show, and the young man was trying to make the most of it.
“...And that’s really all there is to it,” Boun says, as he finished telling their new friend about what he did for a living. “I know that in the grand scheme of things my shop isn’t much, but I do okay and I’m proud of that.”
“Even if he has people working for him now, he insists on making deliveries to the cafe himself,” Earth adds, knowing that Boun is trying to put his best foot forward. “He’ll never admit it but I know he’s grown fond of Fluke and I.”
“Well, we’ll all know what P’Boun really thinks of you pretty soon. Fluke’s not going to be working there for long so there’ll just be the two of you,” Prem replies.
“Geez, you’re right. I can probably stop making deliveries, then. I don’t want to be stuck with this one,” Boun says, rolling his eyes at Earth who was sticking out his tongue in jest. “The only thing is, the business pretty much runs itself now. It’s pretty boring to stay at the office the whole day, every day.”
“That’s pretty impressive. You made something out of nothing. Not many people can say that,” Prem says, slurring his words a little bit. The slight blush on his face from thirty minutes ago was now completely replaced by cheeks that were almost as red as apples.
He wasn’t the only one with a blush on his cheeks though, the drunken compliment sending flutters to Boun’s heart. “Thanks… Your work is impressive, too. It’s really selfless of you to devote your life to serving other people, especially sick kids.”
The two smile at each other with lingering eyes and it starts to make Earth feel like he was intruding. Luckily, Boun was sensitive enough to pick up on his friend’s suspicions.
“What about you, Earth? Any other plans aside from the cafe?”
“Oh, boy, here we go,” Boun mutters under his breath, taking a sip of his whiskey. “Earth is a talented designer and everyone knows it but him.”
“Really? Wow! What kind of designer, Earth? Have I seen your stuff anywhere?” Prem says, lighting up at the information.
Earth waves his hands in protest, uncharacteristically downplaying Boun’s compliments.
“No, no, nothing like that at all,” he replies. “I just mostly do outfits for my friends when they need it and doodle a lot on my sketchbook - that’s all.”
“He’s a fashion designer.” Boun stretches his arms out and displays himself the best he could. “See? He made this. He actually made this for me. Tell me he’s not talented.”
“No way!”
“Shia, Boun,” Earth hisses. “I told you not to tell anyone!”
“He did his own, too,” Boun adds, earning him a smack on his arm.
“Your suits are beautiful, Earth! Why be shy about it?” Prem asks.
“Yes, exactly!” Boun says, crossing his arms in front of his chest, the expression on his face almost mocking Earth to give a satisfactory answer to Prem. “Go ahead; answer him. Why ARE you shy?”
“Me? Shy? When have I ever been shy? Look,” the reluctant designer continues. “If there’s one thing I know better than anyone, it’s clothes - that’s why I can say that mine aren’t up to par with anything sold commercially. This is a hobby, and that’s it. End of story.”
“A hobby? Your ‘hobby’ is holding its own tonight in a room filled with the best clothes in the country. Sounds like someone just lacks confidence to me,” Prem says.
“THANK YOU!” Boun agrees, a little too loudly.
Before Earth could land another playful punch on Boun’s arm, they notice movement from the crowd.
“Wait, something’s going on,” Prem says, his eyes following everyone moving to what seemed like the grand staircase. “Where is everyone going?”
“Oh my God, they’re starting, aren’t they?” Earth says, throwing dagger-looks at his two companions, as sharp a warning as any. “Come on! We have to get a good view of tiny human. HURRY!”
The three of them join the sea of people making their way at the bottom of the grand staircase. There was a podium set up for the occasion and everyone gasped as the King and Queen emerged from the top of the stairs on the right, presenting themselves with utmost grace and elegance. In almost perfect unison, each person bowed or curtsied in respect as the country’s rulers made their way down.
“Gorgeous,” Earth gasps, clutching his heart dramatically. “The Queen’s pictures don’t do her justice at all.”
“I knew the King was tall, but I didn’t think he would be that tall,” Boun whispers in reply.
"Thank you, everyone for coming..." the King says. "We acknowledge the presence of all the foreign dignitaries, and the country's noblemen who have taken time to join us in celebrating this special day. As many of you are aware, this year commemorates the thirtieth birthday celebration of our only son, Crown Prince Ohm Thitiwat. And it is a long-held tradition for the Crown Prince to choose his spouse at this time. My wife, the Queen, and I are elated to announce that our son has made an exceptional choice, one that will bring the country together and lead this nation to a brighter future. My dear countrymen, I present to you Crown Prince Ohm Thitiwat and his fiancé, K’Fluke Natouch."
The pair emerges down the steps of the royal staircase hand-in-hand, with Fluke shaking the whole way down. Ohm held him steady and smiled sweetly, as the entire room was abuzz and in complete shock. There were only three people in the entire crowd that didn’t seem fazed by the news, and they stuck out like sore thumbs. It wasn’t long before Kao’s eyes landed on Earth’s and they were once again staring at one another.
As the pair settles on their place on the landing, the whole room repeats their bows and curtsies - this time for Prince Ohm and Fluke. It was too much for any of them to bear.
“Will I embarrass you guys if I cry?” Prem asks.
“Do you see the way the Prince is looking at Fluke?” Boun replies, his voice breaking as well.
“This is so beautiful. I’m so proud of them,” Earth says, sniffling.
The pair joins the King and Queen at the landing, presented to the nation for the first time as the new Royal Family.
The King raises a glass and boasts.
"A toast, to the Crown Prince, K’Fluke Natouch and the continuing legacy of the monarchy. Cheers!"