Darryl waited for 24 hours.When sunrise came, Darryl stood on his motorboat as he welcomed the pack of tribesmen that came to give him an audience. There were three boats that surrounded his motorboat now, one was full of warriors who was looking at him with grim expression and was sending him an implied warning that one wrong move from him and the sky will shower with raging arrows.
The other boat was where the council stood represented by the twelve Baruks of the island and the last boat was where Enoch stood with a woman he calls mother—the Chieftana.
"Brother, my father is sick as I have told you so I had brought the council as promised" He said to the Lagdameo heir whose eyes were fixed on to his. Darryl was glad that the chieftain"s heir fulfilled his promise and hoped that somehow, just like how Enoch considered his request, they too will be able to give him permission to enter the island.
"I have brought mother Chieftana too. She was the one ordained by the Highest G.o.d as the tribe leader when I went away" Enoch introduced the woman beside her. Although he was the chieftain"s heir, he was respectful enough to acknowledge the Chieftana even though his presence—as the Cheiftain"s heir—rendered the woman useless.
"I thank you, roux blooded for saving the chieftain"s heir" The Chieftana said her grat.i.tude, acknowledging Darryl for his efforts in saving Enoch yet there was no sense of warmth in her words. Even until now that she was standing beside Enoch, she couldn"t believe that the chieftain"s heir came back alive and well.
She had always disliked roux blooded and Darryl, even though he was the chieftain heir" savior was not an exemption. Besides who told this roux blooded to help the chieftain"s heir when she had already made sure that the young blood could not anymore come back?
Now that Enoch is back, the leaders.h.i.+p will be given back to him as the rules provided. Darryl had definitely ruined her plans of holding the t.i.tle as much as she pleases.
Dryly she spoke again and tilted her head to the other boat, the one full of warriors and they opened a trunk full of s.h.i.+ny golden articles. "As a compensation for your help. I offer you this trunk of gold. Aki said golds are precious in your place so this should be enough for you"
Darryl looked at the treasure that was flaunting in front of him. If he wasn"t the Lagdameo heir, he could have fainted on the reward they offered to him.
"I do not want any gold, thank you" Darryl rejected their offer politely "But there"s something I do want and hope you could give it to me"
"Enoch already told us that you wanted to enter the island" One of the Baruk joined the conversation. The sea beneath their boats was calm, yet the tension that was surrounding them at the moment was a complete opposite.
"Enoch is the chieftain"s heir. The decision should be on him" Baruk Tsu, the one that leads professor Owen"s village reminded everyone. He was aware that the request of the roux blooded was an impossible proposition but he adored his bravery. Darryl stood dare without fear even though he was very aware that he was outnumbered and that they can easily kill him at the par line.
"Then I would be glad to give you an entrance brother!" Enoch said those words straight away as if it was an easy thing to decide on to.
"Enoch!" The Chieftana hollered, definitely shock on what she considered as a careless thought of the chieftain"s heir "Oh please my chieftain heir. Consider this matter thoroughly. You know that bringing roux blooded into our island will bring so much chaos"
"I agree with the Chieftana, roux blooded had no place in our lands!" Another Baruk exclaimed. His strong disapproval with the heir"s decision became apparent in his eyes. He was the Baruk of Village Somer village and the youngest among all the Baruk as he was only ten years old "Our ancestors had given us thorough warnings about intruders and roux blooded. We must not forget that they are our enemies and that we shouldn"t give them a chance to ruin our peaceful community.
"I don"t mean any harm," Darryl tried to reason, "The reason for my request—"
"We don"t really care about your reasons!" The boy heightened his voice more.
"Baruk Tam! Please clam down" One of the adult Baruk tell off. "The council must decide as one. However, since we had the chieftain heir with us, our laws say the call is up on him"
"Obviously our heir"s mind had been influenced by him. He had been gone for long and must have not noticed the black magic that this intruder casted on him!"
"Enough!" Enoch howled at the Baruk"s accusation, "Today, you dare to questioned my leaders.h.i.+p and mocked me in front of my guest"
Everyone quieted at the Enoch words. The heir"s expression hardened and his face flushed an angry look upon the council and their blatant mockery.
"Even though I am not the chieftain yet. I will be one of these days whether you liked it or not. I hope by then you will learn to give respect" The chieftain"s heir chided.
"Enoch, forgive the council for their words," The Chieftana spoke gently trying to appease the angry heir. Although she wasn"t her biological mother, Enoch had always respected her. He treated her as a mother, but the feeling wasn"t mutual. Though the Chieftana had always shown him kindness, she was faking the whole thing to get his approval and trust.
"Please understand that our history with roux bloods was not good and so you cannot blame the Baruks if they show disapproval. Instead, work with them so you can come up with a good decision. There are a lot of ways to solve this matter" She said with the intention of luring the boy to get her advice. The chieftain"s heir is still young, most of the time, when he couldn"t decide on anything, he turn to his father for help. Now that his father was sick, the Chieftana then was very confident that the chieftain"s heir would turn to her. After all, he had always believed that she loved him dearly as her own.
"Then mother what do you suggests?" Enoch asked of her. He knew that he cannot insist on his own will as the matter before them was a very sensitive one. However, he cannot just give up on helping his new found brother and at the same time he cannot also take risk the safety of the Manggan people.