"Have you chosen?" The Chieftain asked Darryl when he was done with the handshakes. Because of Darryl"s blank expression, it was hard to guess what he was thinking in his head."Yes, I have my Chieftain," Darryl replied, his mouth upturned slightly. The Chieftain stared down at him quizzically wondering whether he had found what he had been looking for despite the circ.u.mstances.
"Then let your choice be known," He encouraged, rising from his seat to witness thoroughly what was to happen next.
Darryl turned back to where the princesses was lining up. Everyone was curious as to who he was going to choose but as they had already antic.i.p.ated, Darryl went toward the seventh princess on the line and stood in front of her.
"Princess please give me your hand," Darryl told her gently and Princess w.a.n.g couldn"t be more frantic. She immediately gave him her smooth hands and smiled with great victory under her veil.
The Chieftana too raised her head in a proud mien knowing that she had won today. The Hero of Somer lands was to be wed with the Highest Princess. Now that it had happened, their grip into the Somer lands will become tighter. Indeed, they had always been favored by fate just like before.
However even before the Chieftain and Princess w.a.n.g could fully drowned themselves in their supposed victory, Darryl"s next words paused all their daydreams.
"I believe this one is not yours," Darryl caressed the silver bracelet that hung on her wrist. Princess w.a.n.g was shocked about his revelations and before she could pull her hand to hide the bracelet, Darryl already took it from her wrist.
Just like Princess w.a.n.g, everyone was surprised to what Darryl did. Was that the reason why he stayed longer in front of the seventh princess earlier? This caused a commotion, and whispers of disbelief could be heard further down the hall where the council and lesser officials stood.
"Insolence!" The Chieftana who saw how things went and shouted immediately. "How dare you accuse one of my princesses!"
Darryl didn"t know why but she had already expected this reaction form the Chieftana. He knew someone was trying to play tricks on her when he saw the bracelet not in his woman"s wrist but on somebody else and had a strong feeling it was the Chieftana behind it. Her reaction right now only confirmed her suspicions.
"Silence!" The Chieftain bellowed, ignoring the accusations of his wife. He directed another look on the Chieftana, furious. "I thought you made sure Chieftana that all the princesses had nothing to identify themselves? Why is one wearing a bracelet under her sleeves?"
The Chieftana"s expression cannot be painted. She sure was not expecting this sudden turn of events. "Forgive me dear. There must be some kind of mistakes my dear husband. I"m not aware that—"
"No more words from you!" The Chieftain exclaimed, dangerously out loud. "You are very quick to find fault in others and even try to create a hype on one small thing and when its you who makes mistake you expect me to forgive you? Well let me tell you in case you were not aware Chieftana, my patience for you had long gone dry"
The Chieftana was speechless, right then she had lost words to defend herself. He had never seen the Chieftain this mad and so she was deeply astonished.
"You! Seventh princess on the line! Take off your veil!" The Chieftain ordered, he was so mad that he had made everyone in the hall shook in fear, except for the few who know how just he was even when he was angry.
Princess w.a.n.g was shaking in fear. Her father was mad and if she will not follow his orders, surely, she will be punished. Instead of hastily taking her veil off, Princess w.a.n.g did not move as her body was paralyzed in fright.
When the seventh princess did not move, the Chieftain stepped down his throne and removed the seventh princess veil harshly. Princess w.a.n.g"s face was revealed after a second. Her eyes were big and teary and her braided her was already in a mess because of the veil that was stripped out her head imprudently.
"As expected," With a humorless laugh, the King stepped back with a disappointed face. "I was trying hard to convince myself that you have nothing to do with this but seeing you as the one standing right here was a direct slap to my face! Tell me that I was wrong to a.s.sume that you had conspire with your mother under this circ.u.mstance!"
"It"s not my fault father. What do you expect me to do when my status is being threatened!" Princess w.a.n.g defended lamely. She was about to say something more but then the hard hand of her father fell hard on her face! She stumbled on the floor just like how the previous Highest Princess did.
"I expected more from you and I deserve your dedication instead of your jealousy! I had chosen to make you the highest princess despite the fact that your mother and sister conspired against my household and yet, here you are, biting me with your vicious tongue and bad deeds. I never once thought the Nan tribe had a very ungrateful blood!"
Princess w.a.n.g suffered a humiliation she had never once imagined. She had always thought his father will never find out since previously he doesn"t really care that much but now, it seemed he was not the kind of person that can be easily fooled. Was the tale about him true? Were the rumors about him losing himself after his first wife died real? And now after he had been healed, did his old self returned?
"Guntas!" The Chieftain hollered, "Locked away Princess w.a.n.g and the Chieftana. I"ll handle them later but for now, take both of them away from my sight!"
"Father please—" Princess w.a.n.g panic and pleaded but the Guntas dragged her mercilessly like her mother.
Darryl saw the all the violence that took place and although he did not mean for it to happen, he cannot undo his actions. Indeed, there was a huge disparity of lifestyle in the mainland and the island. In here, the Chieftain can do whatever he wanted and punished who every wronged him instantly.
"I"m sorry for all the chaos," The Chieftain apologized to the guests. He was aware he had given everyone some fright but it was good that they had witnessed it so no one would dare to disobey him again. "Let the selection continue, tell me hero of Somer Lands who will you marry from those who had been left,"
Darryl bowed at him first, acknowledging his attempts to be just for his own sake. The Chieftain had lost a child and a wife just to follow his cause and he cannot be more grateful of him.
Darryl then went on and moved to one of the princesses standing before him.
"I believe milady this is yours," Darryl approached Xhemin in manner that she had not once expected, not even on her dreams. She gasped when realization hit her.
Did the Hero of Somer lands just call her milady?