Into The Expanding Universe

The Narrator Boy

"A prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves."

The young boy read aloud the sentences written in the book as two other young men nodded in understanding. Both men were seated on the royal chairs, attentively listening to the soft and soothing voice of the 15-year-old boy.

"Those that wish to be only lions do not understand this. Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist."

The matron seated on the throne with an older man frowned instead as she listened to the boy. She was getting bored of the book that is mostly about political treatise.

"If men were all good, this precept would not be a good one; but as they are bad, and would not observe their faith with you, so you are not bound to keep faith with them-"

"Stop!"

The stern voice of the queen rang in the chamber, startling the boy. The crown prince instantly shot a concerned glance towards the boy as the queen heaved a sigh.

"Enough of this. I'm really sick of all this political talks, I've been hearing it since morning and I really can't stand it anymore." She squinted her eyebrows as the king scooted closer to her, letting her lean into him lovingly.

"Then what do you wanna listen to?"

"Maybe some tales? I'd heard from one of the maids that there's a newly added book on tales to the Royal Library. Maybe you can let someone go and fetch it." The queen requested as the king gestured to the butler to go and grab the said book. The boy, still standing near the throne, was holding his breath out of fear. He didn't know what to do next but to only obediently wait for Her Majesty's orders.

"Your Majesty, here is the said book." The butler came in a few minutes later, bowing his head as he handed the book to the queen. The queen curved her lips upwards in a satisfied smile as she flipped through the pages.

"This is it." With a contented smile, she handed the book back to the butler and he swiftly gave it to the boy who is still frightened by the sudden outburst of the queen moments ago.

"What are you waiting for? Continue." The king demanded and the boy trembled as he opened the book but was stunned when he saw the book was written in English instead.

"Arthit?" The queen raised her voice as she looked at the boy curiously, and the boy immediately bowed his head low and kneeled.

"I'm s-sorry, Your Majesty." His voice shaky as he say, "I couldn't read the book."

"Oh, why so?"

"I'm not that highly educated to be able to learn a foreign language, Your Majesty." He explained, keeping his gaze on the ground.

"Well, it's understandable since you're not born in a prestigious family." The queen said as her gaze fell on her son who was gesturing at her with anticipation and she immediately knew what to do, "It's a pity though. The royal family are always fond of you being the narrator boy and if you aren't able to read books written in foreign languages, we've no choice but to dismiss you and hire someone else."

Arthit was aghast at the queen's words as he began pleading, "Please, Your Majesty. I can learn, I promise I'll be able to read that book. Please, give me some time."

Fear was enveloping his heart as he thought about losing his job at the palace. He needed the wages for his mother, to pay for her medical expenses as she'd been sick for quite some time and needed to be attended to by a doctor that would cost highly.