1 Prologue
"Normal speech"
'Inside thought'
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Life is a set of coincidences. Coincidence is a fate in disguise.
-Fiersa Besari
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Year A.D. 2017, Indonesia
"-Timun Mas finally defeated Buto Ijo, and the villagers picked her up as the village's new hero,"
Seen a young girl playing the hair of a little boy who fell asleep on her lap. The story that the girl told was able to make the boy fell asleep.
"Timun Mas and the villagers returned to their lives and lived happily ever after,"
The girl immediately closed the book she held and put it on the bedside table. Not forgetting to adjust the sleeping position of the boy who was still in her lap. She moved as quietly as possible so as not to wake the boy.
"Sleep tight, little brother," the girl kissing her brother forehead softly. She studied her innocent little brother face, as if there was something she wanted to say, but immediately annulled. The girl just shook her head and rushed out of her brother's room.
The girl let herself guided by her feet. Even though in the darkness, she could see the silhouettes of the wall from the corridor she passed. The walls that consumed by times were still firmly supporting precious memories of the inhabitants of the house.
The girl entered the room at the end of the corridor. The room consisted of a single bed with a mirror at the opposite of it, a pair of lean chairs - which flanked the dressing table that located in the corner of the room - as well as a minimalist window decorated with pomegranate-colored curtains combined with a charming terracotta wall.
The girl yanked the curtain aside, letting the moonlight slipped inside. The row of stars was visible from the window, as well as the circumstances outside her room. All looked normal, like the night that she passed in general.
For some reason, there was a horrified excitement that blocked her heart. Her nape hair stood up when remembering the horror. One full day, she had increased her sense of vigilance. All the little gestures got her attention. It was as if someone had watched her and waited for her to make a small mistake. Therefore, she deliberately spent her time in her brother's room, lingering despite knowing her brother had long slumbered. She was afraid, afraid of a thing that did not exist, neither its form nor its existence.
The girl stared at her tired reflection in the mirror. Black eye bags adorned her delicate face, and her raven-haired looked dull. She tried to smile charmingly, only to look so plastic.
'You look like hell, Sabrina,' muttered the girl. 'Sleep is likely to be the best cure for my eye bags for now,'
The girl plopped down on her bed along with her favorite blanket. She eyed the ceiling of her bedroom, full of glowing plastic stars. She blinked her eyelids repeatedly and started to count the stars.
'-2 stars-'
'-32 stars-'
'-46 stars-,'
'-88 stars-'
A few minutes later, the girl fell to the sweet oblivion, unconscious to the world.
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Year A.S. [1] 300, Nusantara Kingdom
Seen a young woman on her back, gritting her teeth in pain. Sweat dripped down harshly past her shoulders, through her long raven-haired, and continuing over her large stomach. Two heartbeats within one stout body proved that another-being resided within her. Her back arched as she tried to push harder. She looked down at the midwife in front of her entrance. The warm brown eyes encouraged the mother-to-be to keep pushing with all her might. The woman's heart banged loudly against her chest, and she was at her limit. She loudly screamed as the pain intensified, at the same time, a sense of relief enveloped her.
"Congratulation, Ma'am! You give birth to a healthy baby girl," the midwife wrapped the crying newborn into a cloth.
"What do you want to call her, Ma'am?" the midwife laid the newborn beside her mother.
The woman stirred her head to her left and examined her fruit of love. The newborn shifted her position side to side. Her legs kicked in a tiny jagged motion, unwrapped herself while loudly screaming as if there was no tomorrow.
"Tarika Vidya Aishwarya," said the woman calmly. "Tarika-baby, mommy's here, so don't cry anymore, okay?"
The calmness in the woman's voice could appease the baby cry into a small one. Immediately, tears of happiness slipped down from the mother's eyes. She pushed her thumb to caress her daughter gently. She could not wait anymore for telling her husband about their daughter. After all, it had been three months since her husband's last return.
"Tarika, your daddy must be happy when he sees you,"
However, the happiness soon changed into despair when the woman's private guard appeared in sudden.
"Your royal highness, you must escape now," a black-cloth man appeared beside the woman. "This place has surrounded by assassins,"
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The Great Hall of Nusantara Kingdom
The King of Nusantara, Aishwarya VI, Akhza Naraya Aishwarya was pacing around the window anxiously. There was still no news about her daughter's location. Three hours had passed since he sent reinforcement to help the search. His forehead scrunched trying to recall any clues that could help him. This time, he worried as a father to his daughter so as his grandchild's condition.
He could recall how his daughter and his son-in-law showing off their excitement about their child-to-be. Ergo, he despised whoever dares to interfere with their happiness and boldly to kidnap his labor daughter.
'I swear if there is a strand of her hair or her child missing,' the king clenched his fists tightly. 'I will kill that bastard and all of his family member,'
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The cold of the night didn't make the woman trembling as the stench of blood easily penetrated her sense of smell. The woman with her poised kneeling pose embraced her daughter protectively, not affected by bloodied-corpses around her. In fact, there was no fear in her eyes, only sympathy.
Stood before her eyes, a young boy who wore black all-over with disheveled golden strands. The blood of his victims flowed thickly over his fingers through his sharp blade. The blank grey eyes of the boy regarded the woman in front of him coldly.
'This boy, he still in his early teens, yet his hand bloodier than any veterans in this kingdom,' the woman examined the boy thoroughly. Unknown to the boy, the boy's condition broke the woman's heart into pieces.
"Boy, how old are you?" asked the woman calmly. "Why do you want to involve in this scheme?"
"You are from the Jagger Clan," continued the woman. "You might not even know the truth of the prophecy, yet you still help the master of this scheme,"
Surprise flashed before the boy's eyes for a moment. The exposed strands of his hair had revealed his identity. The long silence stretched before them, staring each other intensely.
"This one is 14 years old this year," the boy broke the silence. "This one may not know the truth behind the prophecy, but here to protect this one sister's safety,"
The answer made the woman's inside twisted more. This boy was a spared tool to be wielded by his master. The boy only tried his best to protect his family without knowing what he did was wrong.
"Boy, what is your name?" probed the woman. "Just assume this as the wish of a woman before her death,"
The boy lowered his bloodied blade as if to give the woman her last respect.
"This one is called Arya. Arya Jagger, your royal highness,"
The woman sincerely smiled at the boy as the light enveloped the body of the baby in her embrace.
"Arya of the Jagger Clan. I have a favor to ask you,"
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