Enter the King and the Duke:

A bright light woke us up by morning. I squinted in the faint for a better look.

�What the�� I mumbled. I crawled over and leaned on the edge. A black boat floated beside our own. I walked over to the light and signaled for communication.

�What. Do. You. Want?� I flashed on and off. They didn�t respond at first.

�Who. Are. You?� the light flashed back at me.

�I. Could. Ask. You. The. Same. Thing,� I flashed back. I didn�t turn around when I heard footsteps behind me.

�Morning, Sappoto-san,� I greeted her. She came over beside me. It didn�t take her long to notice the boat sailing close beside us.

�What�s going on?� she asked.

�It looks like we have company,� I said.

�What do they want?� she asked. I shrugged at her.

�We�ll find out in a moment,� I said. We kept our eyes on the boat beside us.

�Come. To. Shore. With Us,� we both saw. Sappoto-san looked up at me.

�Should we trust them?� she asked.

�I don�t really know,� I said. �We�ll have to look and see.� She grabbed onto my arm. I patted her on the head.

�It�ll be okay,� I assured her. �Stay by me.� Sappoto-san nodded at me.

�Okay,� I flashed my light. The other boat sailed ahead of us. I walked over to the wheel and directed our own boat to follow suit. It took about an hour and a half to get to shore. Sappoto-san and I waited at the dock. I looked around for a moment. I took out my cell phone to see if I had any reception here. Still nothing, at least not yet anyway. I wonder if anyone has tried to call me by now. Knowing Andi, she�s probably blew up my voice mail just on the first day alone. Maybe I should check my messages when I get a better signal.

Suddenly, a low whistle caught my ear. Sappoto-san and I looked up at the source. Two men in their late thirties to early forties looked us up and down. They looked rather dressed, despite their worn-out looking clothes. The fat one had a messy bread and a fat cigar hanging out of his mouth. I liked the silver rings on the skinny one�s fingers. I tried to guess exactly what they were.

�Hi�� I said. �Are you the ones that signaled us?� The fat man grinned his dirty, yellow teeth at me.

�Why yes,� he said. �And who might you lovely ladies be?� Sappoto-san held onto my arm. I patted her on the head.

�Hitomi,� I lied. �This is Aoi.� Sappoto-san recoiled behind me. She knew I was lying, but said nothing. The fat man smiled at us.

�Hi-to-mi, A-o-i,� he pronounced slowly. �Hm, cute.�

�And you are?� I asked. The fat man smirked with the cigar in his mouth.

�I am the king of Rasen Island,� he said. �This is my duke.� Sappoto-san looked at him with big eyes.

�Is that right?� I asked. �Where exactly are we?�

�Why, you�re in Thailand, my ladies,� the �duke� said. Excitement took over us both.

�You�re joking, right?� I asked. The king shook his head.

�No lie,� he said. �You are in beautiful Thailand.�

�Whoa!� Sappoto-san murmured. The �king� took out his cigar and flicked out the ashes on the end of it.

�Say ladies,� he said. �Are you had any breakfast yet?�

�No�� I said. The �king� clapped his hands together.

�Super, super!� he called. �Let us treat you to best of Thailand!� Sappoto-san and I looked at him, blankly.

�You sure about that?� I asked.

�Yes, yes!� the �duke� spoke up. �Come with us!� The men walked over and grabbed onto our arms. Sappoto-san cried aloud. The �duke� backed up from her.

�Hey now,� he said. �I wasn�t trying to hurt you or anything. Geez!�

�She doesn�t like to be touched,� I explained.

�Oh�� he said, softly. The �king� gave us a huge smile.

�Never mind,� he said. �Let�s just get going, shall we?� The fat �king� marched on forward as he dragged me further down the hall. I looked over at my travel friend. She shared the same worried look that I did. Something told us that these guys wouldn�t let us go so easily. I decided to try and look for a clean escape when the chance arose.

We all came over to a bar. I raised an eyebrow at the entrance. �A bar?� I asked. The �king� nodded.

�Why yes!� he said. �Drinks and breakfast on us!� Sappoto-san and I kind of blinked at them. No words could feel this space. The men came on either side of us.

�Come on, ladies!� the �duke� said. �Let�s go back inside!� He and his friend hurried us inside before we could even say a single word. Inside, the loud music gave Sappoto-san and I such a headache. I watched the �king� and the �duke� hit on every single woman in sight. It didn�t take me long to figure out that these guys weren�t kings and dukes. They were just sleazy con men looking to rip people off here in Thailand. Yet, I didn�t have any hard proof yet. I nudged Sappoto-san on the arm. She glanced over at me.

�Sappoto-san,� I whispered. �We have to be very careful of those guys. I don�t trust them.� She nodded at me. I turned my attention back to the �king� and �duke.� I had no idea what they were planning for us, but I would just have to keep watching until they strike. With that thought in mind, the men came back to our table.

�Waiting long?� the �king� asked. I smiled and shook my head.

�No,� I lied. �Not at all.� A director could�ve said, �scene� at the moment I smiled after I said that.