Fire in the Village

Citra woke up with a headache. Her hands held her head as she sat up and looked around. There was only her here. Roro Jonggrang and Aunt Sumi weren't there.

"Ack!" Citra exclaimed feeling the pain in her head.

Her gaze fell to the clay cup. The clear contents inside she had just drunk, and then she fainted.

"Where's Princess?"

Citra stood up. She checked the rooms and windows. When she looked out the window, there was an orange color decorating the sky. It was in the east. She soon realized that Roro Jonggrang had told the villagers to burn hay.

Her feet stepped outside. Citra ran towards the gate and was immediately intercepted by the guards. Before the guard could ask, Citra was on her feet, running away.

The guard who saw her suspicious behavior chased after her without further ado. He quickened his pace and almost got the girl's arm. However, Citra took a sudden turn.

Citra ran through the street that was guarded by many people. The night wind blew her long hair. She felt that this road would lead to the main gate.

The guards chasing the girl grew. Their footsteps echoed on the ground, scattering dust into the air. Together, they shouted at Citra to stop.

Citra saw the main gate ahead. Her breathing was already short and her heart felt like it was going to explode. Even so, she forced her legs not to rest. Her goal now was to save the spoiled princess from being cursed.

A man near the main gate saw Citra coming. His body stepped smoothly and managed to fool Citra. In a single grab, the man grabbed Citra's arm.

"Let go!" Citra shouted hysterically.

Citra looked up at the man. She recognized him as the Prince of Horse Stables. His handsome face glistened, but Citra shook her head.

"Let me go. I have to go over there," Citra begged as she pointed outside the gate.

"His Majesty has forbidden anyone from leaving the palace," said him.

Citra threw out her restrained hand. However, the man's strength was no match for her. Beads of sweat ran down her nose. Citra looked restlessly outside the gate. Her loose hair clung to her wet neck.

"I really need to get there."

At the same time, Citra had an idea. If she said the princess was out there, these guards would look for her. That would also simultaneously stop the fire that was burning in the village.

Citra looked up, staring at the man who was so tall before her. "The princess is out there," she chirped.

The stables prince's expression changed. His eyes had a worried look now. He was overlooking the village with its rooftops visible. There was an orange color from there. He thought there had been a fire and perhaps the Princess was in danger.

"Get my horse out," he ordered.

"Lord Sagara, His Majesty the King gave orders to keep the gates closed until tomorrow," the head guard argued.

"His Highness the Princess is there. If anything bad happens to the Princess, there is no forgiveness for us."

"Mr. Sagara, how can we trust this girl's word?" asked the guard who chased after Citra first.

Sagara looked at the girl's face which was as tall as his chest. His eyes narrowed. "You're seer, right?" he asked.

Citra nodded.

"This girl is the King's seer. Her words cannot be doubted," Sagara said.

***

The cavalry rode into the village. The rhythmic steps of the horses broke the night. At the end of the group, Sagara was riding with Citra. Both of them were silent even though they were quite close.

Sagar smelled the fragrance of flowers that princesses often wore. He had also recognized this girl as a princess. Sagara cast his eyes forward. The village of Prambanan came into view. The orange hue in the sky was visible.

They stopped in front of the gate. Once downstairs, Citra immediately ran into the village. She already saw the figure of Roro Jonggrang in the center of the village. "No, Princess!" she shouted frantically.

Roro Jonggrang was surprised to see the girl running towards her. Moreover, there were palace troops behind her. She began to feel tremendous fear.

Citra looked around. Every house had its bonfires. The sounds of chickens crowing were so noisy. She looked at the Princess and held both her arms and begged. "Princess, please stop this now!"

"Why?!" Roro Jonggrang retorted loudly, "It's my way of saving myself."

"No, it's not. This way doesn't save you!"

Roro Jonggrang broke free from Citra's hands. Her angry face pierced the girl. "You won't tell me how! This is my way!" she shouted again.

Citra was silenced by the scream. It was true that she didn't tell Roro Jonggrang, but if she did, Roro Jonggrang would not want to do it.

"Why didn't you tell me?! Ah, you're the king's seer, right? You only tell fortunes for him."

Roro Jonggrang smiled mockingly. Her eyes glanced at Sagara who was silent there. The man looked relieved.

"Princess," Citra called.

"What? Now you want to tell me? Are you going to say the way is for me to give up, is that it?"

Citra was taken aback by Roro Jonggrang's words. That was the way she thought. However, seeing her say it with an annoyed face was certainly not the idea she wanted.

"Princess, this has to stop now," Citra told her, "The fire is getting bigger. People's houses might catch fire."

Princess looked at the houses. People were adding wood to their fires. The flames were getting higher and higher and the tip would touch the wooden roofs of the houses. Citra's words were true.

"Put out the fire," Roro Jonggrang ordered.

The villagers, who had been listening to her, quickly fetched water from the well. Suddenly, one of the houses had the biggest bonfire. Before the owner had time to pour water, the fire had already engulfed the roof of the house.

On Sagara's orders, the palace troops helped put out the fire. However, the fire seemed to refuse to die. Just as one house was cleared, another caught fire. This made the residents restlessly come out of their homes carrying their belongings.

The village, which had been noisy with the cooing of chickens, was now full of screams. They were afraid that their houses would be engulfed in flames.

Roro Jonggrang was speechless at the state of her people. This was not what she wanted. Her people must not get hurt.

Impulsively, she picked up the bucket. Suddenly, the corner of Roro Jonggrang's eye caught a figure that shouldn't be there, the king. Her hand instantly slipped from the bucket.

Bandung Bondowoso appeared haughtily. His hair fluttered behind his back. He sharply scanned the burning village. His gaze fell on Roro Jonggrang standing beside Citra.