The five villages north of the Castle of Remna were shouldered by two long chains of mountains at the East and the West. Thus, the five villages came to be known as the Choked Villages.

Travelers used to call them the Green Villages because wherever they walked, they were always grass, bushes, and trees. The locals were always willing to give tons of fruits for free. The villages were an asylum for the poor.

In one of the houses in the villages sat a group of four people. Two middle-aged ladies were cheerful, while a young lady and a young man beside them were both looking downward. The youngsters had just reached eighteen years old. This was an age where they had to marry, sadly even if by force.

The four sat on a wooden floor around a fireplace. The fireplace was busy heating a copper kettle filled with water and jasmine leaves. The tea was reserved for romantic occasions. Its smell and taste brought back passionate memories.

"Going shy you two?" said the middle-aged lady sitting beside the young lady. "After a week or so you two will be arguing nonstop, so forget about shyness."

"Oh, let them," said the other middle-aged lady, sitting beside the young man. "If they are not shy now when will they be?"

"There is a better time for shyness if you know what I mean," replied the other middle-aged lady. She covered her mouth with the wide robe of her orange sleeve. "Shaiva, speak up already. I want my daughter to be the initiator."

"But..." Shaiva looked back at her mother for she did not know what to say. Shaiva then looked at her future husband in front of her. But after a moment she retreated her head down to the fireplace with red cheeks.

The other mother pushed the side of her son named Valik with her elbow. This was the 'agreed-on' move to begin.

"Mother-in-law, I have a question," said Valik.

"Sure, sure, ask, ask," replied Shaiva's mother as if she was waiting for this moment.

"Why is your daughter wearing makeup?" Valik asked. "Why someone so beautiful like her wears it in the first place?"

The body of Shaiva shook and grew redder by the second.

"Good question future son-in-law," replied Shaiva's mother. "Shaiva, answer him."

"it... is... because..." said Shaiva then paused.

"Oh my God, girls these days," said Shaiva's mother as she turned her head left and right. "She was shouting a few minutes ago in the house, and now she forgot how to speak. This is what happens when you read so many romantic stories."

Valek's mother pushed her elbow to her son's sides once again.

"No, Mother-in-law," said Valek. "Let her be shy, for my eyes are feasting on her shy face."

"Stop it," shouted Shaiva at Valek all of a sudden. "I am going mad!"

Shaiva's shout was about breaking Valek's acting mask, but his mother's elbow push put it back in place.

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"Oh please, let me drown in your madness," Valek replied.

"Hey boy," said the amazed mother of Shiva. "How about you marry me instead? My husband died two decades ago, so I am open for business."

"No! He is mine!" shouted Shaiva at her mother unconsciously. And once Shaiva noticed that she looked around her and shouted, "I hate you all!"

Shaiva ran away outside the house.

"Valek, continue," said his mother swiftly. Valek obliged and followed after his future-wife.

"Youth these days, they never realize we manipulate them like toys," said Shaiva's mother.

"It is better this way," replied Valek's mother while blowing her steamy jasmine tea. "If we do not decide who loves who divorce rates would skyrocket."

As the old ladies chatted, the smoke coming from the fireplace heated the wooden roof and hardened it. It also warmed the silkworm cocoons on the upper floor. They created the needed silk for the dress of the new bride, Shaiva.

Silk has been a vital commodity that brought plenty of gold for the five villages. Traders from both the Djinn Kingdom and Lorope Empire bought tons of silk from the five villages at a modest price. The traders would then agree with the tailors to sell it to the nobles at six times the cost.

The marriage also required the village men to gather water from the nearby caves. It is a tough and cold journey yet it has been a sacred practice for 500 years. The snow on top of the mountains slides down to caves once the weather gets hotter. When the snow water enters these cold caves, they turn into columns of mild ice, which gets picked up by the villagers.

The next night was the night of the marriage. Decorated candles were lit on every road and on every house. All the five villagers that day circled the newly-wed couple.

A musical instrument of 108 small wooden bars was tied on one side with a leather belt. Once shaken, these 108 wooden bars hit each other and created a snappy sound. 108 is an important number for erasing bad luck. Dozens of people were snapping this wooden instrument around the villagers and the newlyweds.

Shaiva was sitting on a decorated chair at the center of the commotion. She wore a silky-white dress and a white veil that covered her mouth and neck.

Valek sat beside her, wearing a deep blue robe with yellow stripes. The robe was loaned by the chief of his village and felt new after getting used for over twenty marriages. Adjusting the size of the robe was cheaper than buying a new one.

"Once we are done with this ceremony, I have something to tell you," said Shaiva to Valek amidst the noise. "And many beautiful things to show you."

Shaiva did not want to lose to Valek after his steamy words around the fireplace. Her brain was packed with arrows of passionate words after many years of reading romantic stories.

"Please be gentle with me my princess," said Valek. "If you keep saying this my heart--"

Valek coughed violently. It did not make sense for a vast outdoor area to be full of smoke. The villagers around him complained so a few of them searched for the source.

But that was not needed for the explanation came with a sharp yell.

"Enemies! Run away!" said one of the villagers. He spotted a well-armored army approaching him. The soldiers held a burning stick that lit the houses of the villages.

"It is the Lorope Empire!" shouted a villager after he saw their flag. The women wailed, and the men ran to a small weaponry store. They opened the store but found it empty.

The smoke mixed with cries, and soon enough, they were mixed with blood. The army of Lorope stabbed the crowds one after the other. Piles of dead bodies lied on red grass. The villagers did not resist; they did not know how to resist.

When a person is surrounded by such calamity, it is normal to protect what he treasures the most. One villager hid his gold and silver from the Lorope army. Another hid his children in wooden barrels or abandoned storage houses.

Valek instead turned his eyes to his new wife. Shaiva turned into a statue, her body could not accept what surrounded her. Her warm memories bled, and her future evaporated.

Valek held her hand shouting, "We are running away!". He pulled her with a strong force that returned her to her senses and made her feel safe.

But the moment Shaiva stood up from her chair a black sword dug itself into her back and appeared on the other side of her chest. Shaiva's hand slipped from Valek's, and she fell on the grass unmoving. Her silk clothes were dyed red.

"How... did this happen... my dreams," said Shaiva while crying.

The world around Valek turned dark and painful. He immediately looked with fiery eyes at the one who stabbed her.

"Happy marriage," said the one who had stabbed Shaiva. It was no one other than Emperor Lustratous himself.