At King Bowen’s Palace, people sat in a fighting chamber called Hell In A Prison, where great fighters won and lost their lives, and where wives shed tears to see their husbands following the “one must die and one must live” rule. Here, heroes had died, and here, cowards have been brave.
And here, silence cascade and swirled in the chamber as the men were staring at the prettiest daughter of King of Bowen. Reuben sat beside Sophia, Lucy, Bella, and Ben, and then Alice and Henry walked in, searching for where to sit, and then saw a space beside Sophia’s sides. Henry panicked as he saw them and whispered to Alice’s ear, “Don’t let us sit please.”
“Why?” Alice asked.
He whispered back, “Sophia, her friends, and Erica’s boyfriend is here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes”
“What are finding here?”
“They were looking for me.”
She leaned to his ear and whispered, “We have to sit there, they can’t recognize you.”
Henry sighed, looking down.
Alice looked at him. “Do you remember your name?”
“Yes,” he said, “Anabelle.”
“Anabelle, please let us sit there.”
“As you wish.”
They walked beside and Alice motioned Henry to sit beside Sophia’s side, and Alice sits beside Henry’s side. Henry looked at Sophia’s face, and look away before tears crawl out, he coughed.
“Are you alright?” Sophia said.
“Yes,” he said, “Thank you.”
“Welcome,” she said, noticing that the face looks familiar.
“I’m Anabelle,” Henry said, “And you?”
“Sophia,” she said.
Henry wants to ask about Erica’s health, he wants to tell her that he missed her, but he has no choice but to say, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh thanks, Anabelle,” she said, “Can we be friends?”
“Friends?” he asked, looking at Alice whose face means ‘Don’t mess up.”
“Can we?”
“Yes,” he said.
Sophia smiled, saying, “Thank you”
“Welcome,” he said. Her smile charmed his heart, and in the middle of her love, she became his thoughts, his heart becomes a stereo, beating for her, and then Sophia smiled again, singing a melody to his stereo. He wished she heard all his thoughts that are flowing from his heart. Henry looked at Alice and then burst into tears helplessly.
“What happened to you?” Sophia asked.
“She lost her parents yesterday,” Alice said.
“Oh my God,” Sophia said, “Sorry dear.” She brought out a handkerchief and gave Henry to clean his tears, but when Henry took it, he found out that the handkerchief was his. And the more he cleans his tears with the handkerchief, the more it rain, dripping down like dew but felt like rain.
“Anabelle,” Alice said, “the game is about to start, you should stop crying. You should endure the pain.”
“Okay ok,” he said, noticing that Alice want to cry too but she endured the pain.
She motioned Henry to look at the stage where a big man with a big belly stood, walking up and down while people start praising him.
“Who is him? Rederigo? Santiago? Reuben?” Henry asked
“Nay,” Alice said, “He is the announcer, he has announced here for more than five years ago. He was walking around so that people would him”
“Oh, I see,” Henry said.
“His name is Cassidy.”
“Cassidy?”
“Yea,” she said.
Cassidy stood still and all the noise abated, he looked everywhere and boomed, “One must die..”
And people echoes, “One must live.”
“One must die…”
“One must live.”
“For the King,…” Cassidy shouted.
“And for the princess,” people echoes
“For the King…”
“And for the princess.”
The building shakes, the pirate warriors drummed, the King’s wise men bowed for him, Murali warriors brought out swords, slightly cut their palms, and their blood dripped down to honor the King.
And amid the noise, Henry wishes Sophia could hear his thoughts, to know that the heart which she is desperately searching for, is right beside her, beating melody for her. And he thought to himself, “I wish she hears the noise that is noisier than the one drums made, I wish she knows the pain that is here that feels more painful than the wounds in those warriors’ hand. I wish she sees the blood dripping down more than the blood crawling down from the soldiers’ hands, but it seems I have to listen, feel, and see it alone.”
Sophia noticed he’s looking at her, she looked at him, smiled, and says, “Everything here is interesting, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I wish..” he said, gazing at her winsome eyes.
“You wish what?” Sophia asked him.
“I wish I could be a warrior too,” he said.
“Wow! how could a girl wish for that?”
“It won’t happen though, I just wish it.”
“Wow, that’s nice. Do you want to meet my friends?”
“Nay, not now.”
“Okay, Annabelle, enjoy yourself,” she said, smiling, looking back at Cassidy.
“I want to tell you something,” Henry said, touching her to get her attention.
“What do you wanna say?” she asked.
“I love you.”
“Wow.”
That’s not the words he wants to hear from her, he wants to hear something beyond the noise, beyond the wow, beyond her smile. “Are you surprised?”
“Yes,” Sophia said, “Are you a lesbian?”
“No, I just love you, and I want you to tell me that too,” he said.
“Wow! If I tell you those words, do you promise me that you won’t cry again?”
“Sure,” he said.
And she shouted, “I love you too.”
“Thank you,” he said, crying more.
“What do just did?”
“My eyes cried by themselves. I’m sorry”
“Better, enjoy yourself,” said, looking back at Cassidy.
Cassidy shouted at the top of his voice, “Happy birthday to the princess.”
And everyone echoes after his words, including the King. And the pretty princess feels amazing, loves, and hugs her mother at her side.
And then, after some time, everyone keeps quiet, as it’s the time to fight, time to see the real Hero. Cassidy shouted, “Roderigo.”
The chamber door was opened ajar, and people were shouting, hailing Roderigo as he was bouncing in with iron shoes, holding a big sword with one hand, and shield with another hand, and he was cute in the Iron clothes and helmet.
He stood on the stage, showing off, fighting the air, receiving hailing from his fans. And here, in front of the people, a man, Jake stood before men, saying, “who wants to bet on Roderigo.” And everyone starts dropping their coins, tossing them in the big basket that is on the stage.
Roderigo removed the helmet, reviewing his boldface so that each wife would wish that their husbands should have it too. His fans yelled, praising him, tossing down more coins.
“Oh my God,” Lucy exclaimed, with her eyes wide opened.
“Don’t be surprised,” Ben said, “He risks his life to get this.”
“Can you do that? Can you risk your life like that?’ Bella asked him.
“Sure,” he said, “I can do that, for Erica.”
“Wow! I miss my boyfriend too,” Lucy said.
Bella smiled and says, “Me too.”
They looked at Sophia, and she quickly looked away, saying, “Oppression.”
They all laughed.
Alice looked at Henry, and he got the reason why she looks at him. “Don’t mess up.”
Henry closed his and thought himself, “I wish I break all the rules to tell someone that I was right here beside her.” He breathed in deeply and breath out, letting the thought go with the air.
Cassidy boomed again, “Santiago.”
This time, the building shaken, drummers drum, Santiago’s warriors stood up as the chamber’s long door was opened and as he bounced in. He wore a helmet, holding a spear and a sword. And he wore clothes that look like the gown of a bride on the wedding day. But here, they were not celebrating weddings, but war and life. He once says, “Battlefield is a wedding field. Wear your gown, hold your flowers, and dance because you might not go back home with your bridegroom.” “Hold your flowers” means hold your sword. And “dance” means to fight. That’s how he sees war, and no one, no warriors conquer him on the battlefield.