LANDON’S POV
It was not a pleasing sight, the sight before us.
The tension was building up, and it was like ice sprinkled in the air. We felt like claws of ice were placed on our skins as we held our breath in fearful anticipation of what will become of this duo. None of them would agree to bend to the other, that I am sure of.
I could see the heat of rage spike through the luna’s vein when her eyes locked with those of Rich who did not bother to look away from her even for one second, at least to abate this rift.
The ladies moved back in fear, everyone begging Rich with their eyes to give up in this unruly show of power with the Chamlar.
She could get him punished even without having to lift her fingers. He knew better than to refer to her with her name, a name she had worked so hard to replace.
But then, maybe she needed it. She needed the stubbornness from Rich to make her reason properly. No one throughout this land is able to look her in the face or question her decision. So maybe she needed Rich at this point to guide her on the path to go.
I moved a little, something in me was urging me to go stand at their middle and stop this craze before it gets out of hand.
But no, I will have to restrain myself. There was no way that this was going to get out of hand unless Rich has finally gone insane. He left all he had to protect the luna, and he won’t turn against her all of a sudden.
Scarlet got to Rich and she stopped in front of him, her head held out to meet his face. Her fist clenched beside her, and we could hear the sound of bones cracking.
Rich looked down at her, just the way a father looks at a favorite child that was attempting to stray. He did not put up a defense or tried to scare her, he only remained unmovable.
Scarlet swiftly lifted her fist, no one saw that coming. We were taken by surprise and had our mouths agape, except of course for Rich who stood still and acted as if nothing unusual had happened.
Lara was the person that was greatly affected by this. She was caught in the web of having to watch the rift between her friends and be able to do nothing to stop them. She trembled s she watches, her lower lips clenched in between her teeth.
Scarlet did not pull back, rather, with great force, she brought the raised fist to Rich’s face but just as it was about to hit him, she paused and opened her eyes wide with a growl. She giggled, and then she burst into laughter, causing the tension in us to release.
“It is high time you stopped looking at me as that fragile little girl that you once knew, Rich,” she said.
Rich heaved, it was as if he was letting out all the tension that he wasn’t even aware was inside of him, and slowly, he found himself laughing. “But where do you get these thoughts from, Scarlet?” he asked. I could see that he was intentional in provoking her.
She growled at him once again, and when he did not flinch, she laughed. She knew better than to try to place Rich right.
“Come on, Rich, desperate time calls for desperate measures,” she said and went back to her seat. “Honestly, you were the first to come to mind when I thought about going north, you and Lara. But that will be a very futile move. I need you here, Rich, to keep things in place while I am away.
“But then, must you go?” Rich asked. “You can send me instead” he requested.
“There are so many other things that I would like to find out, Rich. The Chamlee is going with me and there is no need to worry. Moreover, you are a warrior and the rogues can easily detect your personality. With the Chamlee’s calm appearance, no one would consider him a threat” she explained.
“For how long will you be gone?” Rich asked.
“A few days. Long enough to get me back here to prepare for the war. Hopefully, something positive will come out of my visit. I know Diamond Cut, it wouldn’t take them long to lay siege and launch an attack on us” she said.
“There is so much to take care of here, Chamlar, how do I handle that?” Rich asked.
“You can always send words across. Please don’t come yourself unless it gets really critical, I will need you to take care of things here. I will place you in charge. You don’t always need to get my permission, you know what I will do in a given situation” she replied.
We finally agreed with the Luna, so we all looked at ourselves and nodded.
“And one more thing,” she said.
“What is it, my luna?” Rich asked.
“Words of my departure must not get out. The enemy might use that opportunity to attack” she said.
“Okay, Chamlar” Lara replied.
“I will need a favour from you, Lara” Scarlet requested.
“I will do anything for you, Chamlar” Lara replied.
“I will have to make my absence as unnoticeable as is possible. You will have to sit on the throne” she said.
Lara gasped, and we all were taken by surprise. The iron throne is only meant for the Chamlu, the queen of Pixolands. Not even her son, the Chamlee could dare to sit on it after the demise of the queen, his mother.
“But… but that is impossible, my luna, who am I to dare to sit on the iron throne?” Lara protested.
“That is the arrangement, Lara, please we all need this. Your face would be covered at any meeting and you don’t have to say anything. Not many people know what the Chamlee looks like, so Rich would have to replace him and he will speak through Atoor or any of the elders.
“I will have to stand or whisper into their ears…? Come on, dear, how ridiculous can this get?” Rich grumbled.
The luna sighed in tiredness and placed her hand on her chin. If she was thinking this would be any easier, then it is apparent that she was completely wrong.
“And how would the Chamlee’s absence be explained?” Lara picked her words one after the other. The luna was already stressed out, and she does not want to add to that.
“Rich will have to act like Chamlee. No, he will be your Chamlee. He will make the decisions, and inform the elders about them. The elders would relay his will to the guest or guests. But know that this will not be for long. I intend to return as soon as I am done in the north” she explained.
“Oh, I will be occupying the position of the Chamlee” Rich exclaimed, hoping it does not get any worse.
“It is not done that way, Rich” the luna murmured.
Rich looked at her and nodded his head repeatedly. He wished to get this over with.
“Okay, we might need to hear more, Chamlar” Lara requested.
Chamlar hesitated for a while, looking between Rich and Lara before finally responding. “For this to be achievable, you will have to marry Rich”
“A marriage” Lara mumbled.
“You are joking, right?” Rich looked terrified.
I rubbed my hands on my head as I looked at the nervous reaction of the parties. It seems like they have to do so much more than they bargained to see this through.
Chamlar shook her head in the negative, and looking at her friends with pleas on her eyes, she revealed. “I have already planned to marry you two, today”