(Jane"s PoV)I watched from behind as the man whose name was Ahmad Ismail, I believed, gave a heart-warming speech that I had never heard before. Most speeches either sounded courageous or boring, with hard to understand words that could make the speaker sounded smart and cla.s.sy. However, this speech was so casual that I thought I was sitting in a birthday party with my friends. It created lots more emotions than those which were written before hand and using those intelligent-looked words.
However, no matter how heartwarming it was, it didn"t extinguish the fire in me. Still, I kept my rationality in check. I couldn"t just scold everyone when they had worked so hard to prepare a big welcome for me, right?
Also, I had been thinking about that name. Princess? I had been trying to make them stop calling me that. I wasn"t a princess, no matter what they said. I didn"t feel like one. But, they really took my words as wind pa.s.sing by their ears.
No, this couldn"t do. I needed to calm down. Yes, calm down.
Trust me, I tried. But, after he finished giving his speech, I couldn"t help but express my grat.i.tude in a …slightly cold manner.
"Thank you, for the warm banquet prepared especially for… me."
By the time I realized, it was too late. The words had spoken. However, since I understood myself so well, I knew that the expression on my face didn"t show that I was being thankful. Instead, it was sarcastic and cold, detached of any cheerful emotion that I tried so hard to create when I walked into the hall just now.
Who said smiling could make someone feeling better? Forcing a smile could make one"s mood better. Screw that! When one was too tired, not even a smile could lift their mood.
Give them a soft bed and soft pillows, also warm blanket and told them to sleep. It would lift their mood for sure! No, that would be too much to prepare, just ask them to take a rest and not to care for anything; that would be better.
I had tried to find any reason to keep the smile on my face, even forcing it so that I would look less menacing to these people that I had just met. However, it didn"t last long since Sir Ahmad mentioned why he forgot to open the gate. The exhaustion I felt when I went around in the forest only to find this place came back to me and without I realized, I had dropped down all pretenses.
Well, it was not like I liked to lie to people or even myself. But, I really couldn"t hold myself. Blame it on my exhaustion!
I stood up, walking down from the highest chair towards where Sanji and Tom were sitting. They had stood up as well with worry plastered on their faces.
"What are you doing?" Tom asked, half-whispering.
"I"m sorry, I couldn"t think straight." I murmured slightly.
I could feel the stares on my back. I didn"t know what expression Sir Ahmad had on his face with how I treated him.
"Jane Harris, you are the daughter of Lord Rama Satya." Sir Ahmad said solemnly, but somehow his voice was reverberating in the whole hall.
I resisted the urge to reply "No s.h.i.+t, Sherlock" to him.
I turned around to see him standing straight, charismatic aura enveloped his beings. His bearing was really worthy of being the Adviser of Satu Village.
"Hear my words! The Princess has entered Satu Village with her ident.i.ty as Master of White Army, together with her Prince Consorts, an exorcist and a General. Any objections of this matter can be directly stated at this precise moment."
Sir Ahmad peered at the people in the hall but no one made a sound. I, on the other hand, was frowning when I heard that.
Two Prince Consorts. I did say about it to let them stay in the same residence as me. I didn"t know he would say it in front of these many people.
Also, I expected one of those old men raised their hand and expressed their objections. But, they didn"t do it.
I caught Sir Ahmad smiling at me before he started speaking again. Did he know about the complaint I got from those old geezers?
"As the Princess of our clan, you deserve to command the Seventh Adviser and The White Army. May you bring peace upon those who are visible and invisible."
Those words were ended with a loud applause from the people, but the new name I got still made irritated.
"…" A princess? Don"t joke with me!
Who wanted to be a princess?
Just the thought of how many people would call me that pink-colored name had me s.h.i.+vered.
"Just accept it. It"s not bad, though." A certain someone nudged my elbow as he grinned teasingly.
Great! I rolled my eyes at him.
"You will be the only princess who has two prince consorts." The older one spoke calmly. "My dear princess, will you build your own harem now?" His eyes flashed with dangerous glint.
Harem? Screw you! I suddenly felt that these two men were only here to cause me troubles.
Not to mention I regret saying that they were my husbands-to-be to Sir Ahmad when he met me in the Red Residence. I seriously thought that he would not buy it since no one in Indonesia had ever had two husbands at the same time!
Apparently, that rule didn"t apply in this Hidden Village.
Also, wasn"t their truce too strong this time? If it were true that I could take two husbands, would they really agree with that? With how possessive these two men were, I doubted that they would live side by side as my Prince Consorts peacefully.
Also, did I really need my ident.i.ty as the Princess to be able to command the army?
Apparently, I said that question a bit out loud and it attracted the attention of Sir Ahmad. Fortunately, he didn"t hear it clearly since confusion was all over his face. By the time our eyes met, I had put on my big smile on my face again, as if I wasn"t the one who spoke those words just now.
"Let the banquet begin!" I exclaimed and cheers were heard from the people as they filled their stomach with the food in front of them.
The only ones that gave me a strange look were the old men on my right. I remembered them, of course. Weren"t they the ones that opposed me as the Master of White Army and said that no Master could command the army without General?
Well, I could do it. Moreover, I had my General with me.
What else could they say?
I walked back to my seat, gave up on everything that was about to befallen to me. Well, as long as it was not bad, I wouldn"t mind accepting it. Being called Princess, even though I felt it was a bit too much, I would just have to endure it.
"Princess, you don"t like anything on this table?" Sir Ahmad came to me with all smiles on his face as he pointed at the table in front of me politely.
"They are fine." I said, but I had no appet.i.te. "I"ll eat later."
"Do you want me to order something light for you to eat?" asked Sir Ahmad carefully.
How thoughtful! He must have thought that my stomach was upset; therefore I didn"t want to touch anything on the table.
"If you can help me to get some warm water and sweets, it would be great." I said casually. I didn"t see why I should reject his good intention.
"Yes, Princess." Sir Ahmad waved his hand and a maid servant came closer. "Get some warm water and sweets for the Princess." He ordered in soft tone. He didn"t look like an arrogant man who used his power to bark orders or even abuse others.
He ordered, but it felt like he was requesting instead. What a good man!
Maybe I could find out something about my father from him.
"Sir Ahmad, can I ask you something?"
"Sure thing, Princess."
"Sit down, then, I"m afraid it will take some time to finish." I nodded at his chair, gestured for him to take a seat.
Sir Ahmad Ismail didn"t argue and pulled his chair closer to me. Then, he sat down and looked at me expectantly.
"Is it true my father is the King here?"
"Yes, Princess." Sir Ahmad was smiling, even though his smile was hidden behind his moustache.
"How come? Tell me everything."
Sir Ahmad looked more than happy to tell me everything. So, we ignored the banquet and sat there almost face to face. Sometimes, I would take a sip of my warm water and chew on my sweets. Sometimes, Sir Ahmad would stop to wet his throat before he continued his story about my father.
He started telling me about how my father reached this village. He said, my father could reach the village was because he was guided by something. The Elders in the village didn"t believe it since they knew the thing that was leading my father was still in the house, refused to come out from its box.
Yes, the thing that was leading my father was a creese; a black creese. It was the mystical weapon of this village, a very important one.
Sir Ahmad told me that whoever could wield the creese, that person would be the King of the village. No matter who that person was, the rule was the rule. It didn"t matter whether the creese chose someone from the village or not. Bloodline didn"t matter in pointing the ruler of the village. The one who made the decision was the creese.
At that time, my father was also joining the selection to be the Master of White Army, but he wasn"t fated with it. Instead, he was chosen to be the King since he proved that he could command the creese to move around easily.
Only after they saw how my father wielded the creese that those Elders relented. Even so, based on what Sir Ahmad told me, I could conclude that those Elders were far much more rational than the Elders from White Army.
Just look at them! Four out of six would occasionally throw me a glare when they thought I wasn"t looking.
Just wait, you old geezers! I"ll settle the score with you later!
After my father was crowned as the King, he had lived here for three to four months before he left. He also said to them not to close the gate if one day his descendants would come. They had a.s.sured him that as long as he was the King, anyone with his blood could come and go at this place at will.
Sir Ahmad also mentioned about the Elders" offer for my father to take a Queen from this tribe. My eyes widened when he mentioned about it. Fortunately, my father declined the offer, saying that he already had a wife and a daughter. If someone were to be his Queen, it could only be my mother. And if someone were to the Princess, it could only be me, his daughter. That"s what he said.
"But, I don"t want to be the Princess." I said to him after he finished telling me that story.
Looking at Sir Ahmad"s dumbfounded expression almost had me laughed. Ah, I felt guilty for making older person letting out that kind of expression. It felt like I was pranking him.
"Ah well, some people still don"t believe that I can command the man. It is okay to ask them to come here, right? After all, they only live nearby." I stood up as I threw those old men my teasing smile.
"Of course, Princess." It seemed like, anything I wanted; Sir Ahmad would always say yes and support me.
"Then, come forth!" I shouted and the wind started to howl like crazy. Along with the wind was the appearance of mysterious white glow that could only come out from the White Army.
I took notice of the change in those old men"s expression and smiled in satisfaction.
"Would you still say that I"m incapable of leading the army?" I asked them. How could I forget that day when they berated me for being a kid and not suitable to lead the army? Let"s hear what they would say today.
Judging from their expression since they appeared, they really had something to say to me. Now that I had started it, what would they say?