The Fate of the King and the Duke:

Anuwat-san blinked with his mouth wide open.

�W-W-What?� he asked.

�Yes, father,� Mamoru said. �I am your son.� The �king� shook his head.

�It�s a lie!� he cried. �I am your real son!� The poor old man looked back and forth between them.

�What? But� But�� he said. His wife and daughters looked at him.

�That is really our brother, Mamoru,� Malee said as she pointed to the real Mamoru. �Those men are frauds!�

�No!� the �king� cried. �They have been deceived, father! Don�t believe this later! He�s just trying to take your money!� I could see the cockiness drain from his face. Suddenly, I couldn�t help but to join in.

�Oh, like what you�re doing to him now?� I asked aloud. The �king� and �duke� desperately shook their heads.

�No!� the �duke� cried.

�Hitomi!� the �king� gasped. �How could you say should a thing after all that we went through together?� I rolled my eyes at him.

�Spare me your crap,� I said. �We only met you this morning!� My eyes turned to the people watching us. I�m pretty sure that some of them don�t buy this phony one bit. Most of them look just as confused as the father here. The �king� tried to laugh it off.

�There you go again, Hitomi!� he called. He turned to everyone watching us. �She always does this when she�s upset with me over something petty!� he said to them. I threw up my hands in the air.

�Petty?� I asked. �You�re the ones who dragged my friend and me into your stupid scam. You flagged us at sea and dragged us all over Thailand.� The audience gasped. The �king� looked stunned.

�Hitomi-chan!� he gasped. �I can�t believe you!�

�I can�t believe we put up with you this long!� I said. The audience began to see the truth for themselves.

�But, how can we be sure that you�re not in on this supposed scheme too?� the �duke� challenged. I put my hands on my hips.

�What could I stand to gain from this family?� I asked. �You�d take the money for yourselves and dispose of us when you were finished, am I right?� The �king� put up his hands at me.

�Why would you assume that?� he asked. He turned to Anuwat-san. �Father!� he wailed. �You believe me, don�t you?� The old man looked so lost at the fraud.

�I� I� I� I don�t know,� he said, shaking his head. �I don�t know who to believe.� He turned to his wife. �Dear, what should I do?� His wife gave him a calm look.

�Well,� she said. �What is one thing you remember about your son?� The old man took a moment to think about it.

�I remember that Mamoru had a birthmark on his lower back to the left,� he said. I clapped my hands together.

�There you go!� I said. �We just have to see which one has the birthmark. Whoever has it is the real Mamoru.� Mamoru and the �king� looked uneasy about that. I smirked at the latter. Oh yeah, bastard. You are going down.

�Come on!� the �king� said. �All of that is not necessary, is it?� The real Mamoru nodded.

�Very well,� he said. He rolled up his shirt and turned around. Everyone stared at the upside down bunny-shaped birthmark on his lower back. The old man leaned in really close. I watched as he narrowed his eyes for a better look. He stepped back with his jaw wide open.

�My son!� he gasped. The �king� shook his head.

�It�s a fake!� the conman yelled. �He painted it on!� The old man�s wife licked her thumb and wiped the mark.

�It�s not coming off,� she said. The �king� began to sweat as he fought to keep up his brave face. I turned around to him.

�Oh?� I asked. �Show us your birthmark!� All eyes fell upon him. The �king� backed up like a cornered hunting dog. The �duke� searched for a place to run away. I smirked at him from this point on. Okay mighty king, what will you do now? The �king� himself looked for an escape.

�Wow!� he said. �Would you look at the time?� Those crooks tried to make a break for it.

�Wait! What�s the rush?� the old man�s wife asked. The �king� and �duke� really panicked now.

�Get them!� an old lady yelled in the crowd. I grabbed onto Sappoto-san�s arm.

�Let�s get out of here while we can,� I whispered. She nodded at me. We dashed into the house, grabbed our purses, and got out of there as fast as we could.

I don�t know what happened to that �king� and �duke.� Yet, I did hear that they were tarred and feathered and paraded down the streets in a cage with a sign saying �fraud� on the locked door. That must have been pretty funny to see. Serves them right.