CHAPTER TWO
Two years had passed since the day the King, under the bewildered and astonished gazes of the court, brought an unknown youth into the castle.
Their encounter occurred during the military campaign against the lands of Luang. Siriporn remembered it as if it were yesterday: amidst the turmoil of the raging battle, Athit seemed illuminated by a divine radiance. It was impossible not to notice him.
"You made it all up," Athit would say, in disbelief. "It was an ordinary, overcast day, without a single ray of sunlight in the sky."
"That just means the gods themselves sent you into my life," the King would reply with satisfaction. "How could I have made it up? I didn't even know your name."
At that moment, the whole world around them seemed to cease to exist: the sounds died down, movements slowed, people blurred, and only his silhouette remained clear. He stood there, looking so utterly out of place. And the moment their eyes met, the King of Arichayan irrevocably and completely lost his head. Just like that, the ruler of one of the most powerful and successful states was ready to fall to his knees before a stranger from the lands he had just conquered.
They stood there, looking at each other. Chaos raged around them, and at the center of this chaos was him—Athit.
At first, the youth was frightened and didn't understand what was happening when, in the midst of the unfolding mayhem, Siriporn approached him and began to stare at him with a kind of disbelief. Under his gaze, Athit felt insecure, vulnerable, and scared. The motives of this unfamiliar man were completely unclear to him. Would he be killed? Taken prisoner? Or something worse? He looked into the King's eyes but saw neither a thirst for blood, nor malice, nor fury. Rather, genuine astonishment and... interest? That made everything even harder to comprehend.
The strange and suspicious man didn't just take his hand then, but called for him to follow. Everything was like a blur: he didn't even quite remember when the battle ended, and suddenly he was sitting in an enemy carriage, carrying him to foreign lands. After that scene on the street, he saw his captor only once during the journey. And again, their eyes met in a silent stupor. The man's emotions were even more incomprehensible. Could a king, having just successfully conquered new lands, possibly look guilty?
Athit spent the entire journey deep in thought and anxiety. He neither slept nor ate—besides, how could one sleep or eat in such a situation? As for Luang, he had no family left there for a long time. In essence, nothing held him there. Perhaps that was why he didn't feel a strong hatred toward the enemy; rather, he was puzzled, because he held absolutely no value to them.
When the carriage stopped in the inner courtyard of the castle, he felt uneasy. The whole way, Athit had tried not to think about what awaited him upon arrival, pushing those thoughts as far away as possible. But the moment had come, the carriage doors opened, and he was asked to step out. He immediately began looking around. Thoughts of escape flashed through his mind. Obviously completely hopeless and pathetic ones. But even they shattered instantly the very second he caught the King's gaze on him. Siriporn stood at a distance, speaking to someone, but his eyes and all his attention were directed at the captive. Athit looked away. There it was again—that strange feeling that made him lose the desire to run, or even to resist. As if it were the natural order of things, exactly how it should be. So, he simply obeyed his inner instinct and followed two armored men, on whose chests and shoulders shone the sign of the sun—the kingdom's crest.
Athit walked with his head bowed as he was led through vast, luxurious halls, endless corridors, and staircases. Finally, the guards stopped before one of the doors, opened it, and let the youth inside, remaining outside themselves. Athit expected to be taken to a dungeon or some similar place, but the room he found himself in was nothing short of royal: bright and spacious, with huge windows that reached the floor. Every object within involuntarily drew the eye: a large bed with a canopy hanging from high ceilings, carved wardrobes, a folding screen and a table, a patterned sofa and a chair—a multitude of items that served as decor and filled the chambers with beauty and opulence. Another person, finding themselves here, would certainly have marveled at it all, but Athit had no mind for that. Only now did he realize how thoroughly exhausted he was, both mentally and physically. His legs felt like lead; an overwhelming weariness took hold of him. He sank to the floor, leaning his back against the door. Athit still hadn't processed everything that had happened to him over the past few days. It was just too much. He wanted to close his eyes and drift into oblivion, to simply disappear.
He didn't know how much time had passed. It felt as though he had even blacked out for a second before he heard voices outside the door. He stood up and listened but couldn't make anything out. He tensed up, growing nervous. Then the door opened, and he walked into the room. Siriporn stood on the threshold, majestic and imposing, bathed in the rays of the setting sun that flooded the room through the open panoramic windows, making his appearance feel like a dream. Athit looked up at him, and all thoughts completely vanished from his mind. The man took a step forward, breaking the fragile atmosphere, and the youth backed away. Siriporn did not approach too closely; seeing the reaction, he stopped and bowed in a gesture of greeting:
"Please forgive me. Thirasak Siriporn, ruler of the kingdom of Arichayan."
Thus took place their formal introduction. It took Siriporn considerable effort and time before Athit allowed him to get close. The King himself did not immediately notice that he was exceptionally gentle and caring with his guest, unlike with anyone else before. It wasn't like him at all. Do people really change, or had he always been like this, and Athit had simply revealed this side of him? Whatever the case, Siriporn knew one thing: Athit Kasem was his destiny, and their meeting was preordained from above. How else to explain what was happening between them, what was happening to him? A previously unknown feeling emerged as something natural, a matter of course. It was as if Siriporn had been waiting for him all this time, and now everything had fallen into place.
From the very first day of Athit's arrival in the kingdom, young Lady Darika's life was turned upside down. If previously there had been at least a hope for a union, now everything was over. His Majesty became even colder toward her. Moreover, those damn whispers... It felt as though she heard them everywhere, noticing that the entire court and even the servants pitied her and laughed behind her back. Of course, trading a good marriage for this incomprehensible boy! She spent her days crying in her chambers, and was only occasionally seen sitting alone in the garden. The rejection of the engagement became a tragedy. In her family home, the situation was no better: her father was incredibly furious with both His Majesty and Darika herself. He blamed his daughter for failing to hold on to her man and disgracing the family, since the King had preferred a stray over her. From now on, a noble marriage was but a dream; her father was already searching for a suitor to marry her off to someone else as quickly as possible, before the rumors spread across the world and before the King officially announced his engagement to this youth. Despite the question of their marriage already being closed, Siriporn did not send Darika home. He still allowed her to live in the palace, for which she was genuinely grateful, as an even worse fate awaited her at home.
And then one day, the palace servants spotted the Thirasak family ring on Athit's finger. Along with it, rumors spread that the King intended to make an official announcement of their engagement on the day of the Summer Solstice celebration. Naturally, this sowed discord and turned the entire court upside down, but King Siriporn was dead set. If the rules ran contrary to his intentions, he was ready to break those rules and forge new ones. Because love must triumph, and a person should not be a prisoner of circumstance—one must be the master of their own destiny.