Chapter 19 - Fire Starters

Prince Meelzib sat annoyed in the office of his best friend, commander Luven of the Enchanted Seven who was in charge of Asia. Luven was a tall and dark skinned. He had hair as red as blood and beady eyes that left a mysterious essence around him.

His permanent smirk made it even more difficult to predict what he was thinking or about to do. He leaned against his chair with a lit cigar as he took in Prince Meelzib's scowl. Luven put out his cigar and leaned on his table with his hands together.

"Meelzib, I know that you are angry with me for keeping you waiting in the lobby but you must understand that I had no choice. You wouldn't want Sevilon and Ouman to find out what we are up to, now would you?" he asked with a gentle laugh.

Prince Meelzib scoffed. "You should have sent them away. You know how much I hate it when I am kept waiting."

"Are you ready to do it?" Luven suddenly asked with a devious grin.

"I am more than ready. What I lack is the perfect opportunity. We can't afford to make any mistakes." Prince Meelzib answered with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I agree with you on that one." Luven rubbed his red bearded chin. "I however, insist that we do it in the upcoming festival."

"No, the security is tighter on that day because of the commoners visiting the castle." Prince Meelzib refused. "If we are to successfully kill my father, we will do it when the perfect opportunity comes."

Luven leaned back on his chair and laughed. "Oh my prince, do you know that there is fire in your eyes when you talk like this? I don't think I had it when I killed my father and brother but with you, there's that fire." he snickered and poured two glasses of whiskey.

"I am positive that you will enjoy the fireworks when I become king of this kingdom." Prince Meelzib grinned evilly.

Luven nodded his head with stretched lips. "In deed I will." he gave Prince Meelzib his glass. "The whole of Dark Star will be engulfed in your flames."

He raised his glass, and they had a toast with evil grins plastered across their faces.

****

you are such a cursed girl

your mother is a whore

no wonder your father didn't even want you.

one day you will be so ugly that people will vomit when they look at you.

stay away from us, we don't want to play with you.

get lost

Emelinia opened her eyes to her window. It was evening. She brushed the bad dream of how she got bullied as a child aside. Emelinia slowly sat upright and let out a long yawn.

She got out of bed and sat at her dressing table. Staring back at her was her reflection in the mirror. The dry tear trials running down her face reminded her of how she cried herself to sleep. She wondered if people would ever give her peace.

"The moment I start to feel some happiness, something comes up to ruin it." she sighed.

Her eyes began to tear up again and she sniffed. She looked back at her bed and saw vini powder on her pillow. This brought the flashback of Naian rubbing vini powder on her head and declaring to everyone that she was to be his wife.

Emelinia looked back at the mirror and saw that the yellowish powder was still in her hair. She still couldn't believe that Naian engaged her. She was very uncomfortable with him and now all of a sudden he was going to be her husband.

Emelinia got startled by the sound of three voices outside. She recognized the first two as Naavi and Wela's. She couldn't however, recognize the third one so she went to her window. Emelinia carefully looked through her see through lace curtains and just as she thought, Naavi and Wela were there.

Emelinia took a closer look at the third woman, and realized that she never saw her before. She was older than Naavi and Wela but slightly resembled Wela. She had a warm glow in her eyes and a friendly ora around her. Naavi and Wela stood beside her with smirks.

Emelinia narrowed her eyes at them and took notice of the bruises on their faces. Naavi had a bruise on her cheek and Wela had a cracked lip and bruise beneath her eye. Emelinia then recalled how Sharaina hit them.

"Good evening, ma." Akirexer greeted the older woman. "Please come inside so that we can sit down and talk properly. It has been so long since you paid us a visit." she humbly requested.

"No thank you, Akirexer. You must understand that I am not here to sit down and chat." she politely declined with her hands together and a wide smile.

She pointed to Naavi and Wela. "They tell me that Sharaina did this to them. Now I want her to explain why she had the audacity to raise her hand at my daughter and daughter-in-law." she said again with a smile. "Where is she?" this time her tone was cold.

"I'm here!" Sharaina yelled from inside.

Sharaina got out of the house, sat on the porch and rested her head on her hand. She looked at Naavi and Wela glaring at her and she smirked. When her eyes met with their mother's, she winked at her. Akirexer became tensed and scowled at Sharaina but she just smiled at her.

"Well, I am here, grandma. You don't have to repeat yourself because I heard everything." she raised her eyebrows at Naavi and Wela. "I slapped those two because they insulted my father. It was bad enough that they traumatized and humiliated Emelinia so when they insulted my father, I couldn't control my anger." Sharaina boldly explained with no hint of remorse.

"Isn't your father guilty of bringing his concubine into his matrimonial home? What makes you claim that they were insulting him when they only spoke the truth?" the older woman asked, clearly unamused by Sharaina's lack of regret.

"And what makes you deem my father guilty without seeing any proof?" Sharaina asked her back and she was silent.

At that point, Sharaina stood up and drew closer to the women. "You see, they saw my father speak to Emelinia before he left for work and they immediately assumed that she is his concubine. This was all because Emelinia is an unwed seer. Don't you agree that it was an act of unfair judgement?"

Sharaina's words made the older woman close her eyes in disgust. Naavi and Wela fearfully looked at each other and stepped back. Sharaina gloated at their shameful reaction with folded arms.

"Did you attack that girl because you suspected her of having an adulterous affair with Sharumez or was it because she is a seer?" she icily asked them and they swallowed hard.

"Mama, don't listen to what this foolish girl is saying. It shouldn't even matter at all I mean look at us. She raised her hand against her elders. She must be punished for what she has done." Naavi fearfully spoke up.

"Did you or did you not attack the girl because she is a seer?" she angrily asked them.

"Yes we did! We attacked her because she is a seer. What other reason could she be here for? We have all heard of female seers sleeping with other people's husbands." Wela justified their deed and Naavi nodded her head.

The older woman raised her hand to slap her.

"Ma don't!" Akirexer stopped her.

"You are both hopeless fools! You two are leaders of the Women's Rights Association in this village. It is therefore your responsibility to act justly at all times. Today you have gone against our ethics! Not only have you oppressed an innocent girl but tarnished a respectable man's reputation! This is all because of your careless assumptions!" she viciously scolded them with a fiery look in her eyes.

"Mama, please we had the best intentions when we came to throw her out. We feared that letting her be would cause men to disrespect their homes by bringing in their mistresses." Wela humbly explained with her hands together.

"Little did we know that she was Naian's girlfriend. Had we known, we wouldn't have come here at all." Naavi remorsefully added.

Wela shot a stern look at Sharaina. "We are not here for that anyway. We are here because this insolent girl had the nerve to hit us."

"Shut up! If she didn't do it, I would have done it myself. How dare you bring me out here only to get me embarrassed? I will punish you greatly for this!"

The older woman raised her hand again and Naavi and Wela covered their faces. Akirexer stepped in and held her hand before she could slap Naavi. Both Naavi and Wela sighed in relief.

"Mama please, enough of this. They didn't have bad intentions when they came here. While I disagree with their method of doing things, I agree that Sharaina wasn't supposed to hit them. I will see to it that she is properly punished for that." Akirexer said to the pleasure of Naavi and Wela.

Akirexer looked at Sharaina with seriousness in her eyes. "Apologize to them at once." she commanded Sharaina.

"What? You can't be serious." Sharaina was puzzled.

"Now!" Akirexer harshened her voice.

Sharaina scowled at Naavi and Wela who suffocated her with their smug looks. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply and let out air from her mouth as a hopeless attempt to calm herself.

"I'm sorry." she forced the words. "Next time, make sure that your faces don't come into contact with my hand." she snappily said and went back into the house.

"Sharaina get back here!" Akirexer called her back, annoyed at her remark.

The older woman held her shoulder. "Let her be." she grinned. "Where is Sharumez? I would like to apologize to him." she asked with her eyes looking around.

"He has just arrived." Akirexer pointed to Sharumez and Naian riding into the yard.

Sharumez and Naian were stunned to see Naavi and Wela at their house again. Sharumez got off his horse and took off his hat. He put it on his chest and bowed respectfully to the older woman. She returned his respect by putting her hands together and tipping her head slightly.

"Good evening, Sharumez." she greeted him.

"Good evening ma, I hope there's no problem." Sharumez replied, worried.

"Oh, none at all. We have already resolved our differences however, I feel the need to apologize to you for the unacceptable behavior of my daughters." she sweetly said.

"There's no need for that. We hold no grudges. It was all just a misunderstanding." Sharumez insisted with a gentle smile.

She took in Sharumez's words with a warm smile and turned to Akirexer. "Where is the poor girl? I would like to apologize to her too." she asked.

Emelinia backed away from the window and sat on her bed hoping that Akirexer wasn't going to let them see her. She didn't have the strength to deal with them all over again.

"She was left traumatized by the whole thing and she has been in her room since then." Akirexer explained with a frown.

"Oh my, that is just awful. Please explain to her that I am very sorry about what happened." she remarked and shifted her eyes to Naian. "Congratulations on your engagement my dear boy. You can be rest assured that my family and I will attend your wedding." she told him and he gave her an insincere faint smile.

"Well, we should be on our way now." she said and left with Naavi and Wela.

As soon as they were gone, Naian walked into the house and went straight to the living room. He found Sharaina eating groundnuts as she muffled underneath her breath. She looked upset so Naian didn't bother to start a conversation with her. Even he was not himself. Sharumez and Akirexer joined them in the living room. Sharumez looked at Naian with eyes full of concern.

"Son, I avoided talking about this at the shop because I felt that it was going to be better to discuss this as a family." he said to Naian. "I'm not sure if you understand what you have done." he added.

Emelinia quietly got out of her room and went downstairs to the dinning room. She stood away listening to the ongoing discussion. She felt tensed about the whole thing. Emelinia understood that Naian had no choice but to apply vini powder on her head because if he didn't, the women would have thrown her out. What she didn't understand was why he forsook his own happiness for the sake of her honor.

"I know at the time you had no other choice but to do that. It is however, not too late to think this through." Sharumez said again. "Emelinia is a good girl and she would make a good wife but you must understand that marriage is a serious commitment. It is a sacred bond. You have to be sure if the person you have chosen for yourself is the best for you."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Akirexer asked Naian.

There was silence in the room after that. Everyone's eyes were on Naian and Emelinia felt her heart beating fast. She waited anxiously to hear what Naian was going to say. Naian on the other hand was shockingly calm. Neither Sharaina nor their parents could read his plain facial expression. When he looked up and faced Sharumez, they got ready for anything.

"It is too late to change my mind. Everyone knows that I am to marry Emelinia. If I don't marry her, they will come back here and their attack will be worse. Telling them the truth of how she ended up here may make the whole village surrender her to Queen Lavila. I am ready to marry her but I will not do it against her will. I have no intentions of forcing her into anything." Naian clearly said to his family.

Sharumez leaned back and held Akirexer's hand. "Well son, it is all up to Emelinia now. We have to ask her whether she agrees to this marriage or not."

"I agree to it."

Emelinia revealed herself and everyone looked at her stunned. She felt uncomfortable with their stares and looked down as she rubbed her hand.

"I will get married to Naian." she repeated herself.

Akirexer left her seat by Sharumez and went to Emelinia. Emelinia could see that her acceptance baffled Akirexer so much.

"Are you sure about this? None of us want to force you into anything." Akirexer placed her hand on Emelinia's cheek as she worriedly looked into her eyes.

"Naian is right. It is too late to change our minds. You have been so kind to me therefore I can't let your reputation get tarnished because of me. I am already feeling so bad that you got insulted today because of me. I am ready to get married to Naian. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to not bring more problems to your family." Emelinia stressed.

Alainara came into the living room rubbing her eyes. She let out a yawn and sat on Sharumez's lap with her head on his chest. She had been napping since lunch. Sharumez held her lovingly as she yawned again.

"Papa, who is getting married?" she innocently asked as she continued to rub her eyes.

"It is Naian. He is marrying Emelinia." Sharumez answered her.

Alainara turned to look at Emelinia. "So does this mean that Emelinia will never leave us?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yes, she will live with us here." Sharumez replied and Alainara smiled happily.

"I like Emelinia. She is really nice. Naian will be very happy with her." Alainara innocently said, again.

Upon hearing her words, Naian and Emelinia were surprised. They looked baffled at Alainara then shot tensed looks at each other. The two of them quickly turned their eyes away from each other in discomfort. It was clear to Sharaina that they felt awkward.

Naian cleared his throat and excused himself. Emelinia listened to his shoes hitting the wooden floor as he went up the stairs and stopped when she heard the sound of a door closing.

"Now that Naian is getting married, Sharaina will be next right?" Alainara asked Sharumez.

"Yes she will as long as a nice man asks for her hand in marriage. When she gets married, you will be next."

Sharumez poked Alainara's nose but she frowned with her hands folded.

"What is it, child?" he asked her, confused.

"I don't want to get married papa." she said with a sad pout.

"Why not?" Sharumez had his eyebrows raised.

"Because men are stupid. All they want is to get into girl's panties and once they get what they want, they flirt with other girls. When the girls do what they do, they hit them. I am better off alone." Alainara proudly said.

Sharumez's mouth remained agape in shock. Akirexer and Emelinia widened their eyes astonished. Sharaina on the other hand was horrified. She closed her eyes, covered her face with her hand and cursed at Liss underneath her breath. Sharaina was just about to stand up and retreat when Sharumez asked Alainara,

"Who told you that?"

"Liss told me, papa." she answered.

Sharaina sank into her seat.

Sharumez turned his attention to Sharaina along with Akirexer and Emelinia. "You talk about such in front of your sister?" he asked her.

Damn it Liss you idiot. If I get into trouble because of your big mouth, I will see to it that you pay for it.

"No papa we don't." Sharaina smiled awkwardly. "Oh would you look at the time. It is time for me to have my evening bath."

Sharaina got up and hastily left the living room before Sharumez could fire her with more questions. She cursed at Liss all the way upstairs to her room and locked her door. She leaned on her door and breathed a sigh of relief with her hand on her chest.