World After Worlds

Achis paused for a moment, there was a sudden upheaval in his eyes' emotion but he smiled at her and held her hand. "You did great." He whispered to her ears and quickly kissed her on her temple. "My bride said the dance signifies the heroic adventure of Rajah Basi and Datu Pita." 

"Really? There's a dance that was created for us?" The Rajah uttered exhilaratingly. "That is why it was so fierce! Hahaha!" The Rajah was so delighted that he waved his hands for his trusted right hand to come in.

"If that is the case I will grant your bride a baul of golds, silvers, and ornaments. Also, I will give you another chest of silks and fabrics for your wedding dress, Bai Rym." He awarded her magnanimously, Yanarym bent her head to give him a crusty.

"My bride says thank you, Rajah," Achis said again and the Rajah just laughed and let them be seated. 

"I'm parched," Yanarym complaint to Achis as they took a sit back to their spot. Achis embraces her waist and quickly kissed her cheeks. 

"You did great." He whispered to her as he saw how pleased the Rajah was. With that, it's given that he had the Rajah's favor. 

"I don't want a kiss, I want water." She revolted, gaping at him looking agitated. Now that she has moved around so much, she's feeling the heat coming from her body but cannot be released because of her overall clothing. 

She's getting sweaty! And sticky! She feels feverish! It's annoying her! 

"Just wait a little longer," Achis told her that she rolled her eyes out of annoyance. The heat was making her indignant. She took his cup of wine and drank it while the mask was still on her face. She felt her throat was singeing and she had to cough. Achis immediately gave her water and she drank it in a hurry. 

The Balay of Rajah was tremendous, aside from the bed-chamber of the Rajah and Hara. Lapil also had one huge room in it. On the opposite wing, there was the twenty-five guests room for the Kadatuan with their wives that they could rest on upon staying on the puod of the Rajah. 

In the center of the balay, there was a vast area, where everyone gathered. The seat of the Rajah beside him was the Hara. They were nesting on a wide seating Cleopatra that was covered by the fur of bears and numerous soft pillows that they could lean on. Below, there is a three-step ladder that separates them from the rest. 

On the wooden floor, it had carpet. Above it, there was a small table that was placed in front of each couple, and all of them sitting on a futon. In the center, it was an open space where Tala and Yanarym had to perform earlier. 

Lapil was sitting on the first ladder below his parent's seat and was peering his gaze at the woman that was being concealed from head to toe only eyes could be caught a glimpse of. He was not paying attention at the beginning because he was not interested in staying here, rather he liked it better staying in the woods. 

Yet, he heard his Iloy called the name of the person or not a person, that he desperately sought to see one more time. That certain creature, he was waiting to appear again in the forest to interact with him, was seeming to his very eyes.

He knew her, the moment he saw her eyes, even if it's just a glimpse of it, he would recognize her in an instant. She was coated with dark blue with green woven clothes. But her brown shining and stunning eyes, those eyes haunted him every single night in his dreams. He will never forget the way she stared at him, the first time they met. Those enticing eyes kept him up all night. 

There was only one woman who could do this to him, that was her. The woman who dared to kiss him fearlessly, and runs away. The woman who cried for the monkey killed herself. The woman wasn't embarrassed showed her bareness to a stranger. The woman he thought was an illusion, his fantasy, or maybe a goddess in the forest. The woman had the sweetest smile and fiercest eyes. The woman who made him fell on an abyss of unknown emotion. It was her, Rym.

He couldn't get his eyes off of her, the moment she was called by his mother. She watched her eccentric way of dancing. The quirkiness of her movements just made him more convinced that it was her. 

Then, she was held by the young Datu from the neighboring banwa of Datu Pita, Datu Achis. He heard stories about him from Datu Pita himself, he was the kind of sovereign who would put his people first. Ara, Datu Pita's wife, admired Datu Achis when she was alive. She even suggested that if Yanar's marriage were not to proceed as planned to Lapil, she was willing to send her daughter to the benign Datu. So that, the banwas' in the island would finally unite.

Nevertheless, he was not as exceptional as they said if someone would go against him. There was no hesitation for Datu Achis, he would end that certain someone's life. A few sacrifices for the greater good were necessary, that was his maxim of life.

Lapil didn't have any criticism, he had an obtrusive way of leading his people himself and it wasn't any better than how Datu Achis ruled his land. He didn't particularly care about him before this day.

Datu Achis was so intimate with Rym that Lapil's eyes were fixed at Datu Achis' arms, which were embracing the petite body of the woman. Her eyes were solely gaping at the young Datu who was staring back at her affectionately.. If only glare could inflict destruction, Lapil had already killed Achis, visualizing its grave fate in his horrendous mind.