Odesday, 3rd of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era
The air in the hall of the Bolon House grew fence once more as the fierce-looking Mateus locked eyes with Sadrach.
“What is he doing here?” Mateus had asked with a cold voice while pointing towards Sadrach.
“Is there a reason I shouldn't be here?” Sadrach challenged back, not willing to back down against the scarred man.
Josias sighed before he looked to Johannes to help calm things down. Just as Johannes was about to stand up and mediate between the two, Two more people had entered the house. A larger middle-aged man with a build similar to Johannes and a full beard on his face followed by a similarly tall woman of the same age carrying a baby in a wrap followed by a small three to four year old girl.
“Well what do we have here? A gathering of young people in my own home and I wasn't invited?” The large man bellowed out as he laughed in a jovial manner while looking over at everyone there before turning towards Johannes while shaking his head. “Look at all this, Abang Jo sitting around the house like a bloody king while you leave your parents to carry all these heavy grains by ourselves. Tsk tsk. We were lucky we ran into our Bere (nephew) on the road and he helped us carry the sacks.”
“The least you could do is help take care of your younger siblings, Abang.” The woman said as she sat down while rocking the baby while the three year old child ran happily towards Johannes.
The man and woman were Johannes’ and Helena's parents. Tuan Mardomu Sinatua, Elder Marasi’s eldest son, and Lady Ulina Boru Rapmasari, a daughter of Elder Rihar. At Mardomu’s hint, Johannes and Josias immediately got up to help put away and store the bags of rice and what other materials or food the elders had brought back while Helena helped her mother with her youngest siblings. Mardomu laughed and nodded as he saw the young people work but then his eyes landed on the blue-eyed tan-skinned Sadrach who was also there.
“What do we have here? Hahahah, I'm surprised to see Lae Mora’s son in my home!” Mardomu said as he gave Sadrach a heart slap to the back.
“Forgive my rudeness… Horas, tulang, nantulang…” Sadrach said as he immediately performed the salim to Mardomu and Ulina.
“My what a handsome boy you are, Sadrach!” Ulina said as she pinched the young man “Well it's to be expected being Mora’s son. You inherited the best trait of both parents! No wonder the ladies are so fond of you.”
“Those soft features aren't what's important! What's important is the strength of his arm, eh?” Mardomu bellowed out once more as he grabbed Sadrach's arms and felt his biceps “Good strength, boy! It seems you aren't slacking off on your training! Good, good…”
“Thank you, Tulang, nantulang…” Sadrach said sheepishly.
“Bapak!!” Hanna all of a sudden came rushing towards her father while leaping at him “I have something to tell you!”
“Oh! My little tigress!” Mardomu said happily as he crouched and caught his energetic little daughter in his arms “And what is this you want to say?”
“The handsome Abang came here and said he likes Kak Helen!! Hahahah! I want to be a guard at their wedding!”
Mardomu looked like he froze for a few seconds as he heard his daughter say that. Josias looked over at Sadrach and he looked as if he had seen a ghost with how pale his face became while Helena covered her face in embarrassment once more. In contrast to Mardomu, Ulina’s expression - while equally as surprised - was far more positive as she immediately got up and started clapping while still rocking the little baby in her arms.
“Is this true, Sadrach? Did you come here to court Helen?” Ulina asked with excitement “Well this is a great surprise! I haven't even heard anything from your mother or your aunts about this…”
“Well, it's true, nantulang. I've indeed come here for that purpose… Well at first, I only wanted to ask Helena out to the market but then some things happened and…” As Sadrach was trailing off, Josias immediately cut in to explain the situation, giving a shortened, slightly abridged version of the events that had transpired earlier.
While Ulina was ecstatic at the turn of events and was quick to give her approval, Mardomu still stood there with an expression that was difficult to read as he looked at Sadrach. Mateus sat a little bit behind his uncle with an equally difficult to read expression. Finally after a while, Mardomu cleared his throat before he started to speak.
“Sadrach.” Mardomu called out seriously as he looked at the young man “Are you serious and sincere in wanting to court my beloved eldest daughter?”
“With all my heart, on my honour as a warrior of the realm!” Sadrach answered resolutely as he put his hand over his chest to which Mardomu nodded as he crossed his arm.
“Bere Mateus…” Mardomu called out next.
“Yes, Tulang?” He answered.
“I had spoken with your father yesterday night along with Bang Ruli. Is it true what he said to me, that you too were interested in my daughter, Helena's hand?”
As Mardomu asked this, the tension was once again palpable in the room. Everyone else in the hall was shocked when they heard the question. Josias looked at Helena and judging from her very audible gasp, she didn't have any clue about this either. Giving it a single glance, Sadrach's reaction was slightly worse as his earlier smile had seemingly vanished, replaced with a confused look.
“...It is true, Tulang.” Mateus answered as he then turned to look at Helena before giving a challenging glance to Sadrach “My father has wishes to further strengthen the ties between the Sigompul and Sinatua clans, being among the most prominent clans of the Realm. I myself am not opposed towards the plan as I have a great respect and attraction towards Lady Helena.”
Josias couldn't believe his eyes and ears at the scene that was unfolding before his very eyes. Was there no bloody end to the amount of drama he was forced to endure and witness? He thought that this shouldn't be an issue as Helena could just refuse the proposition, but at the same time, the pride of the Sigompul would be injured if she just rejected them outright like so. Johannes had an equally troubled expression towards the developments that were happening. But it was none other than Sadrach whose face had been contorted with such rage at the news that if looks could kill, Mateus would've been dead a thousand times over.
“Father, may I speak?” Helena asked.
“You may.” Mardomu gestured towards his daughter.
“While I appreciate the kind words from Bang Mateus as well as the offer from Amangboru Poltak, may I be so bold as to ask the offer to be rejected?” Helena pleaded as she looked towards her father while giving glances to Sadrach.
“If I may as well…” Mateus said as he asked permission to interject “Such an offer to be rejected outright like that would be an offense towards the dignity of my clan. There is also the matter of the price in money my clan would have to pay were I to not take my pariban as a wife.”
“That is outrageous!” Sadrach had cut in with a frustrated tone before bowing towards Mardomu to begin his counter against the scarred Mateus “By the rights granted to me by our Customs, with my mother being made a member of the Sinatua clan, I have equal rights towards claiming my Pariban just as much as Mateus does. And it is foolish to demand any sort of compensation when there has yet to even be an official engagement! If it is money then I swear my clan will pay twice as much as the Sigompul offer for the bride price! And if it's a matter of choosing your Pariban, there are droves of other fine young ladies in the Sinatua clan for you to take as your wife!”
“I could say the same to you, Sadrach.” Mateus looked at Sadrach with an icy expression “And while I realise that your family may be the richest clan in Goria, there are some things that your money can't buy. Honour and dignity to name but a few.”
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“You not respecting the wishes of Lady Helena is exactly the kind of thing someone lacking in those virtues would do!”
“I hope you realise what you're saying can be taken as an insult!” Mateus stood up as he approached Sadrach in irritation.
“You're free to take it as you wish!” Sadrach too had gotten up as well, not wishing to back down the least bit as the two were now butting heads with one another, seemingly no longer caring about the others in the room. Josias and Johannes had gotten up to hold back their respective cousins before Mardomu finally bellowed out once more.
“That is enough!” As Mardomu shouted, his peak fourth star aura radiated out which caused the people there to feel a soft rumbling sensation which was enough to catch Sadrach's and Mateus’ attention as they had slightly pulled back. “I will not let any foolishness occur under the roof of my own house and I will not let the both of you unwittingly harm my young children!”
As Mardomu said that, the fiery young men did indeed sit back down but the sparks that were flying between them were far too visible. As the two looked like they were about to argue verbally once more, Mardomu looked like he was about to release another burst of aura, but just as he was about to do so, a figure had interrupted him with a cackling laugh. As everyone looked towards the door of the house where they saw an old lady who looked to be in her seventies wearing very traditional clothing of the Halak, wrinkles visible on her face, standing with her left hand behind her back while her right was holding a pipe made of ivory filled with burning tobacco plants. Though her posture was slightly hunched, the gravitas and aura she had about her was real.
“What's all this noise about?” The old lady asked as she glanced around the hall analyzing everyone there before taking a huff from her pipe and blowing out an obscene amount of smoke out her two nostrils “I was walking about in the neighborhood chatting with some of the old folk when they told me it was just commotion after commotion after commotion up in the home of my daughter and son-in-law. Now I found that concerning, but what do I get for all my effort coming over here? A couple of children fighting over the hand of a lady. Bloody typical.”
“Ompung Ester!!” Hanna excitedly ran over to hug the old lady as she was followed by her younger sister Hildegarde.
“Oho, still as feisty as ever, little Hanna and Hilde…” Ester said.
Soon the children were followed by all the young people and the adults in the room as they walked up to her and kissed her hand in the salim way.
“Look at you young whippersnappers! Tch, kids these days think they're all that just ‘cause they can handle a little aura, hah!” Ester said as she pinched every single one of the kids.
“Have you been doing well, Ompung?” Josias gave a smile as he approached the old lady “I assume you must be given how you don't look a day over fifty!”
“Oh you and your honeyed tongue, Josi! Hahahaha!” Ester said as she laughed while slapping Josias' left cheek jokingly. While it was meant to be a joke, Josias' eyes could only widen as it actually still slightly stung even with his body strengthened by his third star aura. “You are so much like your grandfather, you know that? Little runt was only ten years old when he told me he wanted me to be his wife, hah! Mind you I was twenty two at the time so naturally I kicked the little kid’s ass as I sent him packing back to his mother! Hah! Those were the times…”
Josias couldn't help but shake his head as he heard the story. It wasn't the first time he heard it, but it doesn't mean it was any less unbelievable. But at the same time, it was completely believable if the person telling the story was Old Lady Ester. She was perhaps one of the few people his grandfather genuinely respected and feared. Originally Lady Bintang Narara Hutabaru, she had adopted the name Ester when she was baptized alongside her husband. She was perhaps the only woman in the Halaklands to have made her name as a warrior. But the simple title of warrior would do her no justice as she was also perhaps one of the only people in the realm capable of utilizing both the warrior’s aura and the mage's mana, being both a sixth-circle mage and fifth-star warrior, though it was a shame that none of her daughters had inherited their mother’s talents.
“Mother, If I'd known you were coming I would've prepared something at least…” Ulina said as she hugged her mother.
“Oh there's no need to bother!” Ester reassured her daughter before looking at Mardomu “So what seems to be the big issue here, Hela? (Son-in-law)”
After being asked by Ester, Mardomu sighed before ordering both Sadrach and Mateus to sit themselves in front of Ester in a kneeling position before he started giving a more detailed summary of what the issue was between the two. Mateus, despite his more intimidating appearance, looked far more terrified of the old woman in comparison to Sadrach as Ester had no direct blood relation towards him while Sadrach’s grandfather was Ester’s younger brother whom she helped raise growing up.
As she heard the events being recounted by Mardomu, Ester only casually huffed her pipe and blew smoke out as she had the occasional chuckle. Finally, as the story finished, so too was the tobacco in her pipe spent and so she blew out the embers of her pipe and threw the debris out the door.
“You there, the one with the scar. What was your name again, dearie?” Ester asked as she pointed her pipe towards Mateus.
“Mateus, Ompung…” he said with a slight gulp.
“Mateus… Mateus…” Ester thunked the edge of her pipe to her head as she looked like she was trying to remember something “Ah yes! You're Gogo’s grandchild aren't you?”
“...Yes, Ompung…” Mateus nodded.
“Tell that old goat that he still bloody owes me ten copper kepings from our last Joker game and that I refuse to die until he pays me back.”
“...Uh… yes, Ompung…”
“And you, Sadrach!” Ester then turned towards the young man who still had his head down not willing to offend the senior by looking into her eyes.
“Yes, namboru..? (Author's Note: Actually means aunt but in this instance, the female siblings of your paternal grandfather are refered to as namboru. Don't ask me, I didn't make this up.)” Sadrach asked.
“You know the Hutabaru hasn't always been rich, right? We were just as poor as the rest of these sorry-ass clans back in the day. It was due to my beloved baby brother that our clan had managed to establish ourselves as merchants in these lands. But even so, not even your father would dare flaunt his wealth in front of the other clans like that. Whatever sinamot (bride price) they're paying, your clan will pay double? Who taught you that, boy? Huh? Did my adorable baby Sabam suddenly die and leave all the wealth for you to squander?! Bloody newborn still wet behind his ears willing to waste money that isn't even his. Thank the Merciful Lord that you inherited your mother's face or else I'd bloody your nose, boy!”
“It was my mistake, namboru!” Sadrach had bowed and knelt till his face touched the ground in fear of his grandaunt.
Sitting in the back, Josias and Johannes couldn't hold back their snickering at the sight of their cousins being scolded like children. Unfortunately, Ester noticed their shaking shoulders and conjured up two balls of wind which she immediately threw their way, causing them to fall on their backs by the power of the wind.
“No laughing while I'm scolding misbehaving children!” Ester said sternly to which the two young men sat back up and straightened their postures. “Anyways, there really is a simple way to take care of this bloody mess you've all made.”
“What would that be, ma?” Mardomu asked.
“Have the two boys go at it with a fair duel witnessed by elders of both clans…” Ester said easily
“If I may, Ompung…” Helena decided to speak up as she raised her hand.
“Yes, my sweet?”
“I don't see how that would be fair to me… So am I just to be won as a prize to whoever wins the duel? I must protest…”
“Hah! You're just saying that because you're afraid that the pretty boy here will have his face buried in the sand by Scarface.” Ester snorted as she looked at her grandnephew “If I were you I'd be offended that my abilities were doubted like that…”
Sadrach immediately faced Helena and said, “For you, I'd even face the gates of hell!” Before Ester immediately used her pipe to whack him on the head.
“Don't act so tough, pretty boy.” Ester said before she continued “But what Helena said is right. If it is her wish that she's to be with my brother's grandson then that is her choice but the duel must go on.”
“...I don't understand, Ompung.” Mateus said “If I do not get my betrothal either way, I see little reason to even continue with a duel.”
“Well that's simple. Let's say the one proposing the duel challenge is Sadrach. There are three outcomes possible here. The first is that you reject the duel that Sadrach had issued. If you were to reject the duel officially then you have no right to insist on pushing for the betrothal because at the end of the day, at the Marhusip, the betrothal would be cancelled regardless and your clan would not be able to save face for your current insistence. But if you accept the challenge and win the duel, even if the Sinatua reject your betrothal offer, your clan does not lose face, only the Sinatua.”
“But what if I lose…? Hypothetically speaking of course…”
“You'll just be let off with a bruised ego but your Clan's reputation will be unaffected because the duel was conducted fair and square.”
“...The Sinatua stands much to lose from this then…” Mardomu was apprehensive about the plan “I don't think my father would like it…”
“Then just tell Gogo’s son to begin with that you reject their offer, it's as simple as that.” Ester shrugged her shoulders.
“Yes, I believe that would be the sensible plan…”
“No, I believe we should still have the duel…” Sadrach finally said.
“Ah, and what makes you so confident, pretty boy?” Ester asked, intrigued at Sadrach's determination.
“I will issue the challenge as a formal declaration from the Hutabaru clan. So in that case, whether I win or lose, it doesn't affect the Sinatua clan…”
“And how are you going to convince Sabam to acquiesce to this plan of yours?”
“...If I can inconvenience you to help in that regard, namboru…” Sadrach said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
“Typical…” Ester shook her head and clicked her tongue “...let it not be said that I am unwilling to help a kinsman. I'll convince my little brother, don't worry. We were about to gather at the tavern for our regular joker game anyways. If I'm lucky, I'd meet with Gogo there too so we can get it over with.”
Finally, Ester stood up as she prepared to leave but before exiting she shook her head once more and muttered, “The damned pride of youth. Reminds me a lot of my husband, hahahah!”
And with that, Ester had left as the rest were left there wondering how to move forward.