Chapter nine: Who are they?

Salsa was having a very serious debate with her stomach concerning the bowls of temptation spread across the table from her like a sheet on a bed, calling out to her like the sirens in the sea to the ship captain.

Her stomach can't understand why the brain wants it to resist reaching out to the meat, or the nuts, or the fruits when its drum is empty and echoing all over the place while the brain is trying to explain the dire consequences that are to follow should they be caught stealing from the table.

" But it will be a sweet full belly death, "her stomach smirked at her brain. Her brain rolled its eyes at her immaturity while pointing out that it wasn't ready to die yet, and the stomach should better behave.

Easier said than done.

Her brain has lost most of its control over her limbs who have turned allegiance to the stomach and decided to do it's biddings.

" Stop it, " Salsa silently growled to herself when she found herself reaching out again to the food on the table. She was so damn hungry that she was beginning to hear things. Like the grave debate going on between her brain and her stomach.

She couldn't sit still because it was taking everything in her to stop her hand from moving towards the food. Her mouth was full of saliva because of the tasty aroma emanating from the food like a burnt offering smoke to the gods.

Her stomach was rioting all over the place, and their empty echo made her uncomfortable and embarrassed. Every time her stomach cries out in protest she would feel Master Chang's death glare.

" Sorry, " she would mumble with a sheepish embarrassed look that no longer seems to be working as her stomach won't stop growling.

" May I be excused, " Salsa begged in a dying tone tired of the torture. She wanted a sweet relief from this horrible torture.

" No, and will you seat still, " Master Chang snarled at her shooting her another deadly glare.

Salsa didn't bother apologizing but decided to feed her eyes with things happening around her. There were soft chattering and the occasional burst of laughter as everyone awaits the bride.

The King's gaze haven't left the door since he sat down on his throne and likewise most of the people in the room. They were all looking towards the door with a heightened expectation on their glowing faces like the groom.

Salsa wanted to weep at the extravagance that was displayed on the table. She just can't seem to stop thinking about the food. She has never seen anything like this in her life. It seems that the King was living in affluence while his people are dying of hunger.

The door suddenly flew open and everyone turned towards it with a gasp of excitement hoping to see the beautiful blushing bride, but that light of excitement was quickly quenched by the savagery sight at the door.

Salsa could only gape with shock at the men that just walked into the hall like they owned the place, while a scream and lament of indignation flew around the hall like a bad smell.

Everyone had an angry frown on their faces as they glared at the latest group to arrive for the occasion.

Salsa didn't know who the men were but everyone seems not to be happy about their arrival, even the King. His expression tightened into one of great displeasure, his dark orbs glowing with restrained fury as he watched the men walk towards him.

The men, all six of them were tall, almost taller than anyone in their kingdom, their skin tan and dark, their long dark hair in braids with feathers and other ornamental designs on them. The leader, the one who looks almost the same age as the king looks the most intimidating of them. And they looked very handsome, and like nothing, Salsa have ever seen in her life.

Salsa couldn't look away even if her life depends on it. She was terrified and intrigued by the new group. They carried themselves with so much strength and bravery with no sight of fear in their eyes.

" Savages, " Master Chang grunts in anger drawing Salsa's attention.

Salsa dragged her eyes away from the men with difficulty to regard her new owner. He was glaring darkly at the men like he wanted to kill them with his bare hands. She stifled a hilarious chuckle that filled her mouth when she imagined her owner facing the Giants because that is how the men appeared.

" Greetings your highness, " the leader said without bowing his head. It was an action that enraged everyone in the hall as angry murmurs rose like flames against the barbarians, the popular word being spat out around her.

The strangers looked so unconcern about the anger they were evoking in everyone and went ahead to continue speaking with the King. The leader's voice was deep and low and carried so much authority without him trying.

" Who are they? " Salsa asked her mind but nothing was coming forth from her little brain. Having never left her small village she was unaware of the other world that surrounds her people.

" Your highness, we saw that you sent out invitations to all your neighboring kingdoms to honor your wedding but never sent any to the Fuanis kingdom, we thought it an oversight on your part and decided to come and grace this occasion. "

His words caused Salsa to take another look around the hall and that is when she noticed some of the foreigners sitting around the tables, but none of them looked like the men in front addressing the King.

The Fuanis were not in good terms with her people. No wonder everyone seems angry at their presence.

" It is not every time that the King of Wuxiang kingdom gets married, but then again it has happened almost six times that one can't help wondering if you have turned your wedding into a festival for your kingdom, " the leader mocked and his comrades laughed, but no one from her Kingdom found it funny and the King looked like he swallowed something foul.

His grip on his seat was strong and his knuckles look as if ready to break the hand of the throne only it is metal.

" It wasn't an oversight, no one wants your kind here, " someone screams from the crowd.

There was an echo of agreement spreading around that the King did nothing to stop, instead, he looked satisfied that people were voicing the opinion he couldn't voice himself.

The Fuanis people looked unconcerned by the taunts and angry murmurs of the crowd and merely looked around before going to settle down in one of the few empty tables still in the rather full hall.

One of the tables placed them directly across from Salsa. She couldn't help her curiosity and look in that direction. Her heart sank in her stomach and began to flutter nervously when her gaze fell into the dark ominous pit of one of the men from the Fuanis.

His lips turned up in a lopsided grin as he stared directly at Salsa with a look that made her so uncomfortable that she hurriedly looked away. No one has ever looked at her like that. All hungry and smoldering. What does that mean?

Salsa's heart wouldn't stop racing in her chest and the man wouldn't stop looking in her direction long after she stopped looking and she couldn't look around for fear of falling into his eyes again.

The sound of gongs and music announced the arrival of the bride and the tense atmosphere that the Fuanis brought into the hall was drowned by the air of excitement and jubilation. The King lost his gloomy look as light entered his eyes. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the Fuanis and were now more interested in the reason they were here.

People began to murmur excitedly among themselves about how lucky the King was to be marrying such a beautiful and young bride.

A thought came to Salsa that made her wrinkle her nose. Something the Fuanis said brought to her mind that their King seems to have married five times, three times more than the Kings that have come before him and all of his wives seem to have suffered one sickness or the other.

Was the King cursed? Salsa wondered looking towards the door like every other person in the room. No not every other person. The man from the Fuanis was still staring. His eyes were like pointy laser beams piercing her skin.

" Why would he not stop looking at me, " Salsa worried twitching under his disturbing gaze. She used her hand to wipe her face, maybe she has something stuck on her face that has caught his interest. This had no effect as his gaze grew even stronger. Salsa was tempted to look in his direction but she forced herself not to.

The man's eyes made her uncomfortable. She has never seen anything so wild, and the only thing she could think of to compare to the eyes was that of the lion her and her brothers had encountered one day on their way back from the farm. Salsa's body shook at the memory.

Their farmland unlike the rest of the village was located far into the forest. That day they had stayed later than they intended to tend to the ground because it was planting season and they needed to get their crop in. They had heard a growl in the forest alerting them that they weren't alone. Salsa thought that they leave because the sound had sent chills down her body, but her brothers being who they were couldn't leave it alone, especially Junfeng who was as inquisitive as a damn cat. So they went looking, only it wasn't the deer Junfeng had convinced them it was but a huge lion. Salsa could still remember the wild look in its eyes before it lounged itself in their direction. Salsa has never been terrified in her whole life like she was that day, and has never run so fast. The lion had caught Junfeng on his back leg but before he could do much damage, Qianfan attacked him with his machete wounding him so badly that the lion ran from us. Qianfan had saved us that day, but to hear Junfeng who still has the scar of bravery as he called it tell the story, you would think he was the hero that day.

A nostalgic feeling gripped Salsa making her feel sad as her thoughts took her back to her family.

Lost in thought she didn't know when she looked towards the Fuanis and the man who have been staring at her all day gave her a puzzled look that puzzled Salsa he seemed to be asking something with his eyes, but for the life of her, she couldn't grasp what he wanted.

When the puzzled look turned into a frown in her direction Salsa looked away only to look towards the door when the music grew closer.

The first to enter the room were two lines of beautiful but scantly dressed maidens who were dancing erotically to the beat of the music.

Everyone cheered and clapped for the women, especially the men who couldn't keep their eyes from the exposed belly of the women and their displayed cleavage.

The next sight to grace the door was the bride and her appearance doused all the excitement in the hall leaving everyone shocked and confused.

The silence her outrageous outfit left in the hall was like that of a graveyard and then like someone had lit a match snapping everyone from their daze they started to talk at once, expressing their shock and anger that the young bride dared to wear black to her wedding, to the King. Most saw it as a bad omen and an insult to the king.

Salsa though shocked by the bride's courage to wear what she wore, that wasn't what caught her attention. Her attention was snagged by the bride herself. She has never met anyone as beautiful as the woman behind the veil. Her beauty radiated like sunlight through the dark veil covering her face and when she looked in her direction Salsa was left unable to breathe.