The Metonia

CHAPTER 2: "Getting jealous over something that was never mine?"

“Don’t make me say it and become the bad person.. You know what I mean.. Are you sure that these herbs are from the Physician? Are you sure you are not trying to poison me or something?” Queen Thuy said

This ridiculous thought of Thuy left both, Hieu and Kiet speechless..

“I-I CAN’T EVEN THINK ABOUT HURTING THE QUEEN!”

That’s when Kiet decided to step in and said “He would never do something like that! What are you even saying!”

Even though Hieu was being accused, his heart still skipped a beat when he noticed that King was taking his side..

“You know nothing about this boy my King.. He may look innocent but we never know what is going on in his head! Why would the Physician Pham suddenly hand this pouch of herbs to him? No wonder why I have been feeling nauseous lately” Queen said..

“Hieu..” His heart fluttered once again.. It felt like it has been ages since he last heard King say his name.. But the next question broke his heart a little bit..

“Hieu.. Answer her.. Why did he give it to you when he could have just given it to the maid?”

“Is.. Is he doubting me? I-I’m not that kind of person.. He knows it.. Bit is he still doubting me?” Hieu thought..

“I.. I was there so.. H-He just asked me to give it you.. M-Maybe cause Physician Pham wasn’t there today.. I-It was his son.. I don’t think he knows who does Physician Pham hands your medicines to” without noticing, Hieu’s eyes were starting to tear up..

King Kiet asked “Why were you in the clinic” out of pure concern.. But poor innocent older male ended up thinking the opposite..

The thought of King doubting him was breaking his heart for some reason..

“I-I had a fever and I was afraid the kids might end up catching my cold so I went to get some medicines” He said..

King nodded and looked over at the Queen and said “Are you happy now?”

He walked over to Hieu and wiped a lone tear that left Hieu’s eye without even him noticing.. The sudden touch of Kiet’s thumb on his cheek made him flinch.. Hieu quickly stepped back and bowed.. “I-It’s late.. Kids won’t sleep without me.. I-I shall take my leave” He bowed once again before leaving their room..

King’s eyes never left the door until Queen Thuy cleared her throat.. “You really shouldn’t trust him-” She was cut off by Kiet..

“That’s enough for today go to sleep” He said without looking at the Queen..

On the other hand, Hieu went back to his room with mixed feelings in his heart yet he still didn’t knew what should he feel.. Should he be happy for that moment of happiness when his heart fluttered after hearing his name from Kiet.. Or should he feel sad after getting accused over something that he can’t even imagine about doing.. He couldn’t understand if King actually doubted him of if it’s just his brain trying to trick him..

He was lost in his thoughts when Anouk came to him with a towel in her right hand and a comb in her left hand.. Her hair was all wet which meant she just took a shower.. She put the towel and comb in Hieu’s lap and sat in front of Hieu with her back facing him, wanting the older male to brush her hair for her..

Hieu put all his thought aside and his cherry lips curved into a small yet heartwarming smile.. He grabbed the towel and begin to dry her hair.. Even though it the job of other maids to brush her hair but she always refused to the maids when they try to help her dry her hair.. She never allowed anyone to touch her hair beside Hieu..

After Hieu was done drying her hair, he softly begin to brush her hair..

“Hieuwee” She turned around to see Hieu “You look sad today” She may be too young but she still noticed the emotions in his eyes..

“Huh? What? Sad? Me? No? Why would I be sad” he gave her a smile “Don’t worry about me I’m fine”

She did not had any choice but believe Hieu’s smile.. So she nodded and turned back around..

Hieu put her hair in to two braids.. When he was done he patted her head softly to let her know that its done.. Anouk got up and called Asnee.. Asnee came in running to Hieu pretending to be a bird with his arms open wide and a big bright grin on his face..

Anouk sighed and shook her head “So he choose to be a bird today.. I wonder what’s next.. A dolphin?” she mumbled but Hieu heard her and laughed..

“SO YOU CHOOSE TO LAUGH AT ME YOU OLD MAN!! YOUU’LL PAY FOR THIS!!” with this Asnee put his wet hair in Hieu’s lap and begin to shake his head vigorously which caused Hieu’s clothes to get wet as well..

“YOU LITTLE- IM ALL WET NOW!” Hieu whined like a 10 year old boy but soon he stopped as he realized something.. “DID YOU JUST CALL ME AN OLD MAN!?!”

“Oh no” Anouk mumbled knowing what is going to happen..

“Oops!! I BETTER RUN FOR MY LIFE NOW!!” Asnee laughed and begin to run.. Hieu chased him until he finally caught the little naughty boy..

“IT’S MY TURN NOW!! BEHOLD TICKLE ATTACK!!”

“OH N-“ Before he could even complete his sentence Hieu begin to tickle him.. Tickling was the weakness of both siblings.. They were too sensitive to it.. Just like their father..

Hieu tickled him until Asnee ran out of breath.. He let him go but they both never stopped laughing.. When they calmed down, they looked at Anouk with a sly grin in sync.. Her eyes widened..

“WAIT.. NO NO NO.. I DID NOTHING- AHHHH” She screamed when she saw both of them running towards her..

Their little fight went on until all of them ran out of breath.. The three of them were laying down on floor in the middle of the room, starring at the small birds they made from paper hanging at the ceiling.. Out of nowhere an old memory from the past crossed his mind..

A 15 year old boy standing on a chair hanging the birds they made from paper together on the ceiling.. After he was done hanging the 13th one, he turned around to ask 9 year old Kiet to hand him the next one.. That when his foot accidently slipped causing him to lose his balance.. Everything went in slow motion.. Hieu slowly falling off of the chair and their eyes meeting.. But sadly it was Hieu’s real life, not a movie.. He fell down face first.. Kiet begin to laugh and Hieu got up with his cheeks puffed and a frown on his face, pouting like a baby..

“HAHAHA WHAT WERE YOU EVEN EXPECTING? ME, TO CATCH YOU LIKE THOSE BOOK HEROS?” He said while holding his stomach that was starting to hurt from laughed too hard..

“WHY WOULD I? IT’S NOT LIKE YOU ARE MY LOVER OR ANYTHING!? WHY WOULD YOU CATCH ME?? YOU WILL CATCH YOUR FUTUTRE QUEEN WHY WOULD YOU CATCH ME HUH?” his face was turning red from embarrassment and anger, as well as sadness.. Little Hieu’s were starting to tear up.. He pushed Kiet aside to walk out of the room while hiding his face.. But he had to stop when he felt someone hug him from behind..

“Fine.. Next time I’ll catch you.. Sorry for laughing na. I promise I won’t do it again” He eyes were closed, face was pressed against older male’s back and his small arms tightly hugging Hieu refusing to let go..

Hieu’s face begin to turn into a deeper shade of red because of the feelings he was too young to know about..

“Promise?” He said quietly but it was loud enough fir Kiet to hear.. He felt younger male nod against him back and heard a quiet voice mumbled back..

“Promise!”

He turned around to face Kiet but before he could even say anything, Kiet smile turned into a serious face.. He looked closely and noticed that Hieu’s nose was bleeding..

Without saying a single word, 15 year old boy was dragged to the physician by a 9 year old boy..

Hieu was brought back to the reality when he felt a tug in his shirt.. It was Asnee.. He quietly pointed at his older sister who fell asleep beside Hieu.. Hieu smiled and picked her up and placed her on the bed, covering he properly so she won’t catch cold.. After he was done tugging her in, he went to brush Asnee’s hair and when he was done he put him to sleep and went to take a bath..

“I shouldn’t over think things.. King doubt me, so what.. I don’t have any reason to feel sad about it.. What was I even expecting? Spending childhood with him won’t change who I am.. I can be nothing more than ‘Just a Caretaker’ of his kids" he told himself..

Soon he was all done and ready to go to bed.. He looked over at the kids and thought “This is my world now.. Being able to see their smiles is enough for me”

He walked over to their bed, placing a soft kiss on both of their foreheads and looking at them sleeping peacefully.. Asnee was sleeping with his arms and legs spread, looking like a starfish and drooling a little bit from the corner of his mouth.. Meanwhile Anouk was sleeping with a small smile on her face..

“She must be dreaming of bunnies” He quietly chuckled in his mind as he walked over to his ‘bed’ which was a mattress placed on the floor and laid down.. Letting out a sigh he closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep..

An hour has passed and he still wasn’t able to fall asleep.. He decided to go out to get some fresh air.. He got up and walked downstairs.. Hieu loved sitting alone in the garden, admiring the stars and feeling soft cold breeze against his skin.. That feeling never fails to calm his thoughts and fill his heart with peace.. To him, talking to the moon and stars was like talking to his best friend who may not be able to say something back but is always there to listen to him without him actually saying anything.. It was like a heart to heart conversation with the sky..

He believed that people never actually die.. When their time is over on earth they just go back home, to the place where they came from.. But since their home is right above ours, they may always be looking at us, missing us, wishing that they could wipe the eyes of the person who is crying for them and tell them that they never left them and will never leave them..

And when they see that their loved ones on earth don’t have anyone by their side anymore they ask angels to send them a new friend they can rely on..

Hieu believed that his mother who have left this earth is looking at him.. He was 5 years old when his mother left this earth due to some illness.. He cried day and night thinking that his mother left him and now he was all alone, but that’s when his father told him to wait for his mother to ask and angel to send you a friend..

He waited and waited but no one came, but next year he was sent to the castle and slowly he begin to realize that maybe just maybe Kiet was the friend that his mother send for him.. He begin to believe that he would never leave his side until he got married.. But he, himself was the one to step out of Kiet’s life willingly so he couldn’t even blame Kiet or his mother for sending him the wrong person..

“You may already know this but.. I just can’t help but wonder, Why.. Why did everything turned out to be how they are now.. It was never my intention.. Why did I even fell for a person like him? I sometimes feel like I’m going through some kind of a punishment.. Loving someone, Why does it feels like a punishment sometimes.. It’s like you are dying from thirst and you have a river right in front of you but you can’t just walk forward and save yourself.. It’s like being caged in a cell and having the key right in front of you.. But when you reach out your hand to grab it, you feel like something is pulling you back.. It’s like being in a room without oxygen.. You try to run towards the door but the faster you run, the more further away it gets from you.. But I also can’t stop and give up right? I want to but I can’t.. This is something far beyond my control.. My feet are aching from running too much but still I just can’t stop.. It’s like my legs are moving on their own.. I wonder if he's actually my soulmate or something like that.." he sighed and looked down at his hands that were resting in his lap..

"I never choose to be this way but oh look where am I now” he was thinking to himself while looking at the starry sky..

He was too lost in it that he didn’t even realized anything that was happening around him.. He was too lost in it that he was unaware about the presence behind him, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.. The sudden touch made him snap out of his thoughts and causing him to flinch.. A soft sound of chuckle came from the man standing behind him.. Hieu turned around to see who it was..

“Why do you flinch every time I touch you?” Kiet said as he begin to sit beside him on the bench..

Hieu’s eyes widen and he begin to get up to bow to the King but Kiet stopped him but grabbing his hand and saying “No one is around.. No need to be formal as if we didn’t grew up together as best friends” he sighed “I don’t know how thing turned out to be the way they are right now but.. Trust me, it was never my intention”

Without even knowing Kiet was repeating the words that Hieu was saying in his head a while ago..

“I know I rarely get time for all this but anyways, how are you? You said that you had a fever, Are you Okay?”

Hieu who was listening to Kiet without looking at his face, with his eyes down.. After hearing that he looked back at the sky for a moment and thought “Mom are you seeing this? This is what I was talking about.. And it is happening once again and I don’t know what to do.. I’m stuck”

Kiet waved his hand in front of his face and asked if he is even listening to him.. Hieu nodded and said “I’m fine now”

Kiet nodded back at him.. After this short conversation, there was a pause between them.. Both of them were looking at the sky admiring the stars.. When Kiet spoke out of nowhere..

“What I said before, Don’t mind it.. Just know that I have always trusted you and I will never doubt you.. It was just that I know Thuy, she won’t be quiet until her point is proven right.. I don’t know why is she always like this.. No matter how hard I try to tell her to spend as much time as she possibly can with the kids, she never listens to me.. I know that the kids dislikes her for god knows why but its not right for kids to hate their own mother right?” He looked at Hieu and Hieu just nodded..

He was unable to say anything.. He was afraid he might end up saying something bad.. What King just said was like an answer to all of the questions in Hieu’s mind.. But was it really worth hearing the answers? When he was asking for answers, he almost forgot that the reality was way more worse than he could ever imagine.. Once again his heart was filled with mixed feelings.. He was happy to know that Kiet trusted him but something inside was jealous and he couldn’t understand why.. Is it possible to get jealous over something that was never yours?

“What are you thinking about? Are you daring to ignore the King?” Kiet playfully smirked.

Hieu got up “WHA- NO- I was just.. I-“

Kiet begin to laugh at his expression “Calm down I was just joking why do you always get so flustered about such little things”

His face start to turn pink once again “I- I- don’t.. I just..” He didn’t knew what to say..

Kiet has always loved seeing Hieu flustered, shy, confused or even angry.. He find it adorable.. Seeing him flustered like this, he couldn’t help but pinch his soft cheeks while laughing..

It has been ages since he last did that.. Hieu’s eyes widened and his faced turned into a tomato..

“Aw looks like someone is shy” Once again, a smirk formed up upon Kiet’s face.. “I know it has been so long since I have done that but remember how I always used to pinch your cheek back then?”

“W-We are not kids anymore” Hieu mumbled..

“Too bad.. It doesn’t matter to me” he said while pinching his cheeks once again and calling him “Cute”.. Hieu must be older than him but Kiet was the taller one..

The shorter male looked up to see Kiet’s face but it just made it all worse.. Hieu ended up panicking..

“Uh.. It’s late.. I will go and sleep now.. Y-You should also sleep.. G-Goodnight” and he ran away..

Kiet laughed watching him act like that.. It maybe just a few moment conversation but it felt like old times have returned and what was lost long ago, was found once again..

Kiet couldn’t help but smile remembering the old times as he went back to his room.. Meanwhile Hieu ran back to his room.. As soon as he entered his room, he quickly laid down on his ‘bed’ and covered himself fully, hiding under the blanket.. He was out of breathe and his heart was beating crazily..

"What the hell just happened" he thought to himself..