Sabatsday, 6th of Aprillia, 470th year of the 5th Era
As the day darkened and the moon was emerging upon the skies, a group of a couple dozen young men and women were still gathered at the tribunes of the courtyard in front of the King’s hall. Josias sat in the middle of his cousin Sadrach and Mateus acting as a sort of mediator. At first he thought Mateus was about to stir some trouble again with Sadrach but was pleasantly surprised when the literal bigger man decided to act as the bigger man and bow his head in an apology towards Sadrach.
With the adults and elders of the village all being in the King’s hall to discuss matters regarding the engagements and courtships between the prominent clans of Goria, the younger heirs and youths of the clans were also gathered outside the halls at the tribunes. The Halak placing family genealogies along with marriages and interpersonal relationships among clan members on a high pedestal, it wouldn’t be hyperbole if Josias truly believed he knew all the young folk of the village by name and relation. But it was also because of that peculiarity of Halak culture that the same could be said for everyone else there and even among the youth and young adults seniority and lineage played an important role in social situations.
Though his cousin Timotheus - being an ordained priest and older than him by two years - was also there, Josias was still given the privilege of being the arbiter of disputes by his peers due to the fact that he was the eldest son of the eldest son of the King. It was also why King Parhal was known by his moniker of ‘Ompung Josias’ (Josias’s Grandfather). But while it was somewhat of an honor to be looked up to as a leader especially by one’s peers, Josias would only be lying to himself were he to ever say that it wasn’t a tiring ordeal having to deal with so many disputes and rivalries especially among the rambunctious and rowdy youths of the Halak. He remembered when he’d have to come in the middle of a dispute between a warrior of the Idabagak - one of Arta’s brothers - and a mage of the Binangabalok - one of Priscilla’s cousins. And all of that was over a drunken exchange of insults during a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Naturally, even though the official and judicial duel had been concluded with Mateus clearly withdrawing from it, Josias was still worried when he saw Mateus accompanied by his cousins walking over towards Sadrach. Some of Sadrach’s other cousins of the Hutabaru also became wary and it looked like a petty fight would break out. Despite those worries, audible sighs of relief could be heard when that worst case scenario didn’t come to fruition. Even more than that though, Mateus actually looked like he had the decency to apologise and admit his mistakes as well as his year-long antagonisation of Sadrach.
As that was happening, Josias could also clearly see Arta was only looking at everything with a saddened smile and a forlorn look while Safira sat next to her as she had her hand on Arta’s back seemingly to comfort her.
Among the youth of Goria, some of the young women of the village were appended by their peers with titles that referenced their beauty. Some were just called regular-old pretty while others were even named as ‘bidhadharis’, a Banuan word which originated from the Hindan religion as celestially divine nymphs. Though he knew these titles were obviously hyperbole and originated from the juvenile fascinations of the realm’s young adolescent male fantasies, Josias could not argue that many of his female peers were objectively very pretty.
Strictly speaking, Josias had never travelled too far outside of the Halaklands, with his farthest of travels taking him to a trading town set up by the Banuans of Tirtalangit at the eastern borderlands of the Halaklands. All this to say that he realised he didn’t have too much of a reference point when it comes to evaluating whether or not the young women of Goria really were all that beautiful, or if he and his friends were just admiring a few relatively colourful fish in an obviously small pond. But regardless of all that, his uncle Mora - Sadrach’s father - who has indeed travelled the world to its far reaches had confirmed that the women of Goria were genuinely among the prettier of the Halak. In fact, Uncle Mora would go further and say that save for his wife, Safira was the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life. Now obviously, how true of a statement that would be - especially considering the fact that Safira was his beloved daughter - is up for intensive debate, but it isn’t without merit.
Among all of his peers, there were five young women whom the young men of the village would rather unimaginatively name as ‘Silima Nauli’ or ‘The Five beauties’. They were - in no particular order - Safira Hutabaru, Serenauli Rapmasari-Rappmeister, Priscilla Sigompul-Steinmann, Ruth Hutabaru, and Arta Idabagak. If one were to ask Josias in public, he would boldly proclaim that in his heart, there were no ‘five beauties’ as there was only Serena who reigns supreme, but if one were to ask him privately and objectively - well, suffice it to say that Hesekiel is perhaps the luckiest man in all the realms.
Coming back to that list, however, it was clear that there was a theme at play. All but one of the five beauties were Malaok or mixed-bloods and had foreign qualities to them. Besides Serena and Safira, Prisca’s father was the Reverend Steinmann while Ruth - another cousin of Josias from the Hutabaru clan - was born of a woman from the Far Eastern lands who was later adopted by the Sipistar clan. But due to that peculiarity, Arta’s place among the beauties was that much more amazing as she was a pure Halak whose beauty was comparable to even the Malaok.
But as he looked back on it, Josias realised it had been a few months since he had a proper interaction with Arta and even when he counted all the most recent festivals or church functions, he couldn’t remember ever seeing her there. Josias didn’t make it too obvious that he was taking a few glances at Arta, but he got a good enough look that there was something different about her appearance. Metaphorically speaking, her face had lost its previous ‘shine’ as she had a darker expression despite the smile she was putting on. Her eyes looked exceedingly tired for whatever reason and her previously luscious black hair had lost its luster. But despite all that, when Josias looked at Mateus, he still had that forlorn and smitten look each time he glanced at Arta. Love truly did conquer all. But putting all that aside, Josias turned his attention back to the discussion that was being held.
Sadrach had accepted Mateus’ offer to bury the hatchet as he bowed and nodded his head with Helena seated next to him. After a moment of quiet, Sadrach lifted up his gaze as he met Mateus’ eyes.
“By virtue of our brotherhood in Christ and the kinship between our mothers to the Sinatua clan, I accept your offer of peace.” Sadrach said as he got up from the ground he was sitting on and walked towards Mateus.
On the same beat, Mateus himself had once more stood up stoically until finally the two men were standing face to face with each other, their eyes filled with intent known only to themselves. The just stood like that before Sadrach finally gave a soft sigh and put on his signature smile while putting his hands on Mateus’ shoulders. “...May we now call each other brothers once more?”
“We may…” Mateus answered as he nodded his head and returned Sadrach’s gesture with a warm embrace. “I’m sorry for all the animosity I’ve held towards you, brother.” Mateus said to Sadrach as they embraced each other in brotherly camaraderie.
“It’s fine. I also apologise for not taking further steps to mend the rift between us, brother.” Sadrach said “Let never again shall we face each other as foes nor rivals.”
When the two men embraced, the youths who were gathered there quickly cheered at the visible reconciliation of the two young warriors. It was a silent conflict that had lasted for quite some time and had caused quite a bit of awkwardness for a lot of the young warriors, especially between the Hutabaru and Sigompul clansmen.
“Well Isn’t that sweet…” Serena smiled as she held on to Josias while laying her head onto his shoulder “I’m so glad Sadrach and Mateus finally managed to make up. It was a silly fight and unbefitting of young men their age…”
“You know, hasian (love), I could say the same about you and Safira.” Josias said nonchalantly with a smile before realising too late what he just said as he immediately felt an iron grip on his right arm from Serena’s clutches “W-wait, what I meant to say was-...! Ow!!”
“...You were saying, love?” Serena was smiling when she said that, but Josias recognised the eyes of a fierce tigress and so he could only feel the cold sweat starting to drip from the side of his head despite being a three-star warrior “I couldn’t quite hear you all that well. Would you mind repeating?”
“It was nothing, love. Ahem.”
“No, no. I thought you said something about comparing me with another girl, was it?”
“My love, you know that is just outright not what I said. At all…”
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“You were asking me to reconcile with that vile witch who dared to pine after a man who was courting another woman?”
“...No, I’m asking you to reconcile with my cousin and with how things are looking right now, she’ll also be your eda (sister-in-law).”
“Eh? What do you mean by that?” Serena showed a genuinely surprised expression when Josias said that which caused Josias in turn to also raise an eyebrow.
“I thought news spreads faster from the tongues of you women than even the fastest of couriers. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it yet.”
“I’ve been very busy studying new recipes for tonics. I don’t have the time to listen to idle rumours or things like that. Besides, you know I’ve never been one for gossip.”
“Pfft, are you being serious right now?” Josias gave his lover a teasing smile to which Serena only returned with a slight punch to his arm.
“Mein Gott, Josi! Just stop beating around the bush and tell me already!”
Josias merely leaned his head into Serena’s ear before informing her of the relationship that had been formed between Hesekiel and Safira. Serena’s eyes widened as it was apparent that this was indeed the first time she had heard of the news. Serena was about to reflexively say something out loud about the matter before Josias quickly moved to put his hand over her mouth which attracted the attention of a few people there.
“You’re going to tell me the full story!” Serena said seriously
“I will a little later. Seeing as how even you haven’t heard of it could only mean that rumors haven’t spread and Safira is also keeping her mouth shut about her relationship…” Josias explained quietly “Besides, it shouldn’t be too long, cause it seems some more interesting things are about to happen…”
As Josias was saying that, Arta could be seen standing up and walking towards Mateus while holding onto Safira’s arm. Seeing this, Mateus had immediately walked up to Arta to help her walk. When Mateus finally held Arta’s arm to help her walk, the woman only turned to Josias and Serena before slightly bowing.
“I’m sorry if this is going to be a bother but I had hoped to speak with Mateus and Sadrach privately.” Arta said with a clear voice yet not as strong as how Josias had remembered it being. Though she smiled as she spoke, it was clear from her eyes that she wasn’t feeling her best. Josias accepted her bow and nodded his head.
“Please, Arta. Far be it from me to stop you from talking with a man who has so boldly confessed his love for you in front of all the realm!” Josias quipped as he stood up in turn, followed by a roar of well-meaning laughter from the people there “As it so happens, I also have matters to attend to and seeing as how my two brother-in-arms have mended what had previously been cracked, I don’t see anything keeping you from conversing with the two. And with that, young warriors and ladies of Goria, I bid you all Horas!”
“””Horas!!””” The young people there replied as they had all gotten up from their seats and started mingling amongst each other into smaller friend groups and circles, with some others even heading off to other places. Many of them even went over to the food stands to get something to eat before heading home.
In the midst of all that, Arta had asked to walk alone with Mateus to which he complied.
***
The moon had already appeared in the sky and the sparkling stars had their lights reflected with a beautiful shimmer upon the waters of the Arus river outside of the village. Mateus was walking alongside the riverbanks with the woman who he had - and still does - consider to be the love of his life. They had been walking hand in hand for what felt like almost an hour being mostly silent the entire time despite Arta’s reasoning to take him away for a walk was for them to talk in the first place.
But despite all that, Mateus didn’t care too much as he continued to soak in the atmosphere around him. The sounds of the mighty river flowing added to the ambience of the walk along with the sounds of crickets, some slow lorises and other such nocturnal animals around the riverbanks. As the two continued walking, Arta had laid her head on Mateus’ shoulder. Though he was a considerably tall man - especially when compared to the other Halak men, perhaps only being matched by Johannes - Arta was tall enough that she wasn’t at all dwarfed by his stature.
Finally after walking for a bit more, the two reached a quiet place by the riverbank where a very minor creek flowed out towards some rocks. The two sat themselves upon the rocks as they soaked their feet within the waters of the stream while immersing themselves in stargazing for a good bit. It was then where Mateus finally heaved out a sigh and decided to break the silence.
“Truly beautiful…” Mateus said
“Yes. I always loved the view of the night sky… absolutely beautiful.” Arta said with a smile as she reached out her hands as if to hold the very stars. A small glimmer could be seen in her eyes, reflecting the light of the night sky.
“I wasn’t talking about the sky…” Mateus said which made Arta take a quick glance at him as their eyes met. After staring at each other for a couple of seconds, the two broke out in laughter.
“Since when were you the type to flirt like that?” Arta said as she softly punched Mateus’ stomach but it was clear from the slight blush on her face that she was flattered.
“Josias has rubbed off on me a little.” Mateus said offhandedly while still keeping his gaze upon her “But don’t get me wrong. I was being completely serious with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you…”
When Mateus said that, Arta could only widen her eyes for a split moment before slightly frowning and facing away from him, planting her face into her knees. Mateus could only heave out a sigh at Arta’s change in mood. It had brought back to him bitter memories of when they used to have regular fights over the most minute of issues. Whether it be a wrong comment here, something as innocent as glancing at the young children who would play ball, or even helping another girl out on the most innocent of tasks.
Mateus felt such a great annoyance welling up in him which would usually cause him to lash out in anger but for some reason, this time, when he saw Arta who was curling up in a fetal position beside him, he could only feel like his heart was being scathed by a flower’s thorns. Mateus reached out to hold Arta but as if she could sense him despite not looking at him, she instinctively flinched and pulled herself slightly away from him.
Back during their time together, at the tail end of their relationship when things were at their worst, Mateus would’ve just left her alone in frustration, blaming himself for whatever it is she was feeling. But not this time. No, Mateus was determined to find out, or at the very least try to understand what it was that the young lady was feeling. He had noticed her shoulders were starting to tremble as he could hear her sobbing and so Mateus used a little bit of his strength to turn Arta to face him before holding her shoulders in place. His heart was thumping against his chest in so rapid a motion that it felt like it would actually tear itself out of him. Taking a deep breath before sighing it out, Mateus merely leaned his head in so that his forehead touched Arta’s.
“...Arta… please, I’m begging you…” Mateus said as his own emotions were a wreck “I’m not the smartest person, and I know you know that. And I don’t have any powers that would allow me to read your mind nor see what’s inside of your heart so please… I’m asking you, please tell this fool in front of you what it is that’s been troubling you…”
Arta merely shook her head, not seeming like she’d answer him. Mateus expected that and in fact he was expecting her to try and shake him off of her or even to abscond away from him right then and there as she had been prone to do before. But just as he was about to finally let her go, he felt all the emotions that had been building up inside of him finally reaching its boiling point. All that welled up and pent up stress both from the earlier duel and from months of stress finally let itself out.
“Can you at least let me be with you here… just for now…” Mateus’ voice grew hoarse as drops of water fell from his eyes upon Arta’s arms “Please… at the very least, this time… don’t drive me away…”
Mateus was at his wits end as he let tears flow from his eyes. He was never one for such a display of weakness especially not in front of people that he wanted to appear strong to. But all of that wasn’t worth anything compared to his desire to be with the one he loved. But it was also because of that desire that he had reservations on asserting any form of dominance on the young woman in front of him, especially if it was against her wishes.
“...I’d understand if I’m making you feel uncomfortable… Maybe even this time, I’d make a mistake. If it’s your wish, I’ll remove myself from your-...!!” just as Mateus was about to let Arta go, she managed to summon a strength from God-only knows where to embrace him in return.
“You idiot!!” Arta shouted before planting her face on Mateus’ chest and sobbing her heart out “You absolute stupid idiot!! Idiot muscle-brain!”
Mateus was at a loss as to what to do for the words that were coming out of her mouth and the actions that she was doing were as diametrically opposed to each other as his reflection upon a clear pond. But in the midst of this haze of confusing and contradicting actions, Mateus could finally start to feel some warmth in his chest. Whether it be from the mess and muck that the lady he was embracing was making or whether it was truly his heart finding a sense of relief - or even both.
The night was still long, and they had much that they needed to sort out with each other. But in spite of all that. For the first time in a long while. Mateus could feel that he and Arta could finally bare their true feelings towards each other with no more misconstruing nor deception lying between them.
After baring their hearts to one another, the two continued to talk until well into the night. They didn’t realise how much time had passed until Josias, Johannes, and Hesekiel had appeared to look for them as the village elders were starting to get worried as they had not returned even when the time was nearing midnight. The young couple merely nodded as they followed the young warriors back to the village.
All throughout the way, Josias had pestered the two for answers, questioning them on what exactly went on with the conversation but the lips of the pair were as sealed as tombs of their ancestors. Though annoyed, Josias decided to let the matter go considering how they were family, if they wanted to tell him eventually, they would. Regardless, Josias was only glad that at the very least this ( in his eyes ) minor drama had passed and finally his team of young warriors could try and focus upon the most pressing matter that was staring them right in the eyes, and that was the matter of training for the great Gotilon festival.