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ลำดับตอนที่ #4 : Chapter 3: The New Room (ห้องใหม่)
CHAPTER THREE: THE NEW ROOM
Plonk!
A pillow slammed straight into his face, waking Felin from his nightmare.
“What the hell are you yelling about? Shut up!”
Felin didn’t have the strength to talk back. It was all he could do just sitting bolt upright. Breathing rapidly, he rubbed the cold sweat off his face and felt his body, consoling himself that it was all just a dream.
He’s still a boy, the ring is still on his finger, and then there’s—
Felin glanced around the room once more, then heaved an enormous sigh of relief. His two roommates were still all there and present. First off was the same old Prince Kalo Wanebli of Kanoval, the Ice Prince who still retained his signature icy airs, scribbling away on the desk over there without any regard for his surroundings, as usual. The mere sight of him, however, inexplicably gave Felin warmth and reassurance.
Next up is the one who woke him up with a pillow blow: Kilmus Fylmus, the Killer of Zares; a good-looking young man with fair skin, jet-black hair and amethyst eyes. He was busy sorting his belongings into the small mahogany wardrobe he claimed for himself.
Felin managed a small smile in relief. At least he’s not at the top of Edinburgh Castle, and the guys in this room aren’t those two trying to do him in earlier either.
“Here, your pillow.” Felin chucked the pillow back to Kil, but he simply ducked sideways, leaving the pillow to end up on the floor.
“D’you have to yell your head off whenever you have a nightmare, Felin? Only kids have nightmares, you know?” Kil asked up after Felin had pounced over to sit on his bed on the right.
“Well, that depends on whether it’s a very bad nightmare or not.” Felin chose to remain cavalier as he scanned the room carefully. Though his new room seems to be a little more spacey, the furniture were still the same; three beds, three wardrobes and a worktable. But well, what more would you want out of a dormitory room? He should be thankful that at least it’s not damp or dingy.
Same as before, Felin’s room comes with a large window on the wall to let in the cool breeze; a privilege reserved for the Class Captains. The position had Felin living in fear for the past year, as in Knight Fortress, Class Captains are required to accept all challenges of duel from classmates who hoped to usurp their throne. However, no-one felt like fighting them last year, it seemed, and he could only hope he will remain as lucky this year.
“A very bad nightmare?” Kil reiterated, glancing at Felin with mounting interest. “What d’you mean by a very bad nightmare?”
“I dreamt I—” Felin began, then caught sight of Kil’s twinkling purple eyes and swiftly swallowed his words. Confide to Kil, a killer, that you had a nightmare about being killed? Seriously? He’d totally laugh himself to death over it.
“So what did you dream about?” still Kil persisted, and Felin shot back in annoyance.
“Well, what do you think? Other than being headhunted by your clan!”
Kil’s eyes grew wide at his best friend’s reply, but seeing Felin’s serious expression, he grinned.
“Oh, come on. You won’t die.”
“The hell I won’t!” Felin bared his teeth irritably as Kil guffawed in amusement. “For heaven’s sake, Kil! Why on earth would your Dad be a killer when he’s so freaking talented? There are tonnes of other, better professions he could choose from. How about a warrior? or a swordsman? or perhaps a knight? Say he’s really desperate, a thief is still a lot better. At least you don’t cause trouble for nobody.”
“A thief, you say?” Kil repeated then laughed. “Sounds interesting, but I doubt Dad will consider it.”
Felin chuckled at that then fell deep in thought, caressing his nape before asking up once more.
“So how did I get here?”
“You fainted this morning. Ro and Creed carried you up here. Said the eight-headed serpent gave you such a fright you fell unconscious.”
“The eight-headed serpent?” Felin repeated in confusion. He couldn’t even remember ever seeing the thing at all.
“Miss Ramsel came for a checkup and said you probably fainted because you forgot to have breakfast.”
“Breakfast! Of course!” Felin beamed with relief when things finally became clear. He skipped breakfast then fainted and had a weird dream. That’s probably it.
When he thought about it a bit more, however, his expression became troubled. Well, he was a thief, after all. Skipping a meal here and there is totally normal. Since when did he start fainting from lack of food? Or was something weird going on in this stupid body of his again?
Just then, Felin’s eyes grew wide with a sudden, ominous realization.
“Wait! You said Miss Ramsel came to check on me?” Felin pulled an awkward face, pointing repeatedly at himself. His body is getting stranger and stranger by the day; it’s such that he can’t even tell whether he’s a boy or a girl anymore.
From the time he was little up until last year, Felin was so sure he’s a boy. But last year, he became a boy by day, and a girl by night, and, if he’s really unlucky, even a dog. Things remained that way until earlier this year when he travelled into Demos and became entirely girl. However, thanks to the power of the strange ring on his finger, he could retain his outer appearance as a boy.
His five senses confirmed that he is currently a boy. Personally, however, he did not feel any difference. He doesn’t feel any pain, nor any hot-and-cold sensation, and he can’t help doubting every now and then whether the ring is actually still working.
“Well, she didn’t say anything in particular. What? You’re having doubts about that Uncle Demon’s power?” Kil responded.
“Hey, watch what you’re saying. That’s my father you’re calling a demon!” Felin scolded, albeit laughingly. He then pulled out his ring, before slipping it on once more. He tried it a couple of times more, then heaved a sigh and asked.
“What’s the difference, you think?”
It was such a simple, mundane question, but one that could be interpreted in so many ways that it sent Kil blushing, before he rebuffed tensely.
“And how the hell would I know that?”
Felin froze, then snickered, cocking his head.
“I mean, look! No flashing lights when I transform. No goosebumps. My hair doesn’t grow long. At a glance there’s nothing different. I can’t even feel if there’s any magic, curse or power at work here.” Felin explained, looking thoughtful.
“Everyone sees you as a boy and that’s good enough, right? No need to worry that much.”
Kil cut the discussion short with his reply, and Felin halted. Yes, he shouldn’t, and normally wouldn’t give it much thought, if not for that dream…
A new notion came to him then. Glancing at his best friend who did not care for his concern, Felin shot him a question which is both hesitant and curious.
“Kil, can I ask you something? Is your Dad already the best in Eden?”
Kil looked up and met his gaze at that. “Why d’you ask?”
Felin’s reply turned out to be a merry laugh, as expected of his carefree nature.
“Aw, c’mon. Think about it! My Dad is the most evil in Demos. If your Dad is the best in Eden...haha...All we need to do is join forces, and this whole world will be ours!”
“You’re thinking of starting a war?”
“Watch your mouth!” Felin shot back in an instant, horrified. “You know I treasure my life.” The mastermind quickly explained himself.
“We’ll just have our dads come out for a little demonstration of their might. All we have to do is send that cloud hand here and there, annoy the hell out of some kings, and then, my friend, we’ll be filthy, filthy—”
Felin caught himself mid-speech. He was beginning to sound eerily like someone he definitely did not want to take after.
“—bored to death, I’d say.” Kil argued in a laughing voice. Leaning against the wardrobe behind him, he met eyes with his best friend who had come up with an outlandish offer, hitched up a slight smile then elaborated. “Where’s the fun if you’re feared wherever you go? Besides, even if I want Dad to be the best in Eden, he’s still not the absolute strongest. No matter how good the pay, there’s still a good number of jobs he’d refuse point-blank.”
“Who!?”
Felin didn’t even pause, tremendously interested, prompting Kil to instantly switch off his storytelling mode.
“Not telling you.”
“Oh, come on, Kil! We’re friends! What’s wrong with a little secret-sharing session now and then?” Felin whined, then swiftly proposed.
“Right, if you tell me who your Dad loses to—” The troublemaker slapped his knee with great determination. “—I’ve decided; I’ll tell you my dad’s weaknesses in return.”
“Your dad!?” Kil exclaimed in surprise.
“Yeah, my dad: Madus Debereaux, the Greatest Thief of Baramos.” Felin confirmed with a straight face, as though selling his own father’s secrets did not bother him in the least. “It’s top secret, mind.”
“Top secret?” Kil repeated, his eyebrows creeping together in a frown.
“Yep. Not something I’d tell every other guy on the street, you know.” Felin negotiated enthusiastically, sliding down from the bed to sit beside Kil. “What d’you say, Kil? Limited-time offer, exclusively for you.”
The thief’s elaborated selling scheme had his potential victim thinking hard. In the end, however, he turned it down.
“I guess I’d better not take it.”
“Hey!”
“I won’t have any use for your dad’s weaknesses anyway.”
At that, Kil turned his attention back to his belongings. Frustrated, Felin grabbed his arm, yanked him back then yammered away, toting countless bargains and price slashes and promotions.
“Dammit! Then just tell me what you wanna know! I never said it’s not up for negotiation. What will it be? Three Techniques to Fool Ladies? Six Tips to mastering the Feather-Fingers? or Seventeen Tips to perfecting the Feather-Feet—”
The annoying, infuriating din went on and on and on, then ceased abruptly at the sound of the door opening then slamming shut with a loud BANG!
The two troublemakers whirled around to see. From the looks of it, the roommate who suffers from limited patience had stormed out of the room in sky-high dudgeon, leaving the remaining two friends to turn back to meet each other’s eyes.
The torchbearer smiled sheepishly at the realization, whispering to his best friend beside him.
“It’s late night. Where’s he going?”
“A meeting, maybe? I heard Rowen’s been looking for him since morning.”
“A meeting? On the first day of school? And this late in the night?” Felin shot back incredulously, his dark brows knitting together. But his question would inevitably remain unanswered until His Highness Prince Busy returns from whatever meeting he’s in.
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