CHAPTER 5

THE MARRIAGE RITES

Morgan double hit Ashina across the face, pulling her hair. "Why did you come back?!" She yelled! "Answer me!"

Ashina understood the game, she played along. "You have been asking me this same question for the longest time, I don't know what you are talking of."

Morgan kicked her on the face. "Liar!"

Gonzalo smiled, impressed. "Oh Morgan, you never cease to make me proud. I heard voices and I decided to come and see whom the swain was conversing with. Good job Morgan! Mother will hear of this."

"How can I spare the blood that took the life of my father in-law?" Morgan said, giving Ashina the apologetic look.

"I give you the go ahead to do to her as you please." Gonzalo said then turned to leave.

Morgan made sure Gonzalo was gone before she bent to Ashina and whispered. "I'm sorry." She huffed.

"I understand, thank you." Ashina whispered back.

Morgan hurried out of the storage room, feeling guilty already and sick of the horrible smell.

Ashina leaned on the wall, relieved and hopeful her uncle was coming to rescue her from the webs of death. She felt an immense relief, but it took a moment for her thudding heart to subside to normal.

Color drained from Ashina's face. She thought of the possibility of her father being a murderer, then tried to force herself to see if she could bring back her childhood memories of the palace. She closed her eyes and meditating. She soberly reflected on her situation.

All she could remember were echoes of two small kids playing around the palace with a scrabble book.

She forced her eyes open, weeping. How could they say her own father was a murderer? She pounded over the possibility but only convinced herself there was mix up somewhere.

Suddenly an idea clipped into her mind, she dried her tears and hurriedly left the storage room.

She raced to one of palace exist gate. She smiled mischievously at the palace guard.

"I'm on errand by the queen mother." She said.

"How long?" The guard asked dryly.

"As fast as possible." She replied.

The guard flung the gate open. Ashina smiled making for the exist. Finally! She was out of the palace! She ran as fast as her feet could carry her, and only stopped when she saw a lonely straight path. She was optimistic she'd find help.

She gazed up at the sky, it was lovely. One of those clear, sunny days. She sat on a big stone, tucked her skirt modestly about her knees, closed her eyes and held her face up to the sun. Dear moon goddess, she missed her father, her uncle, her whole family. She needed help urgently.

"Ashina?" Chuchin moved closer to her.

Ashina spun about and looked down at Chuchin. Her heart skipped. "Are they coming after me? Please help me serve as a distraction." She panicked, close to tears.

"After you?" Chuchin chuckled. "No one can come after you here."

Ashina laughed. "That means I've crossed the Poldark boundary? I'm free?"

Chuchin looked confused. "What are you saying?"

"I deceived the guard and made him open one of the exist doors, did you escape too?" Ashina asked, naive.

Chuchin shook her head in pity. "Darling..you are still in Poldark, even closer to the palace, this straight path leads to the palace garden. That gate is not an exist out of Poldark, the only exist out of Poldark is through an underground. That's the much I know from my father about the exist door of Poldark. All other routes are heavily guarded."

"So you're saying..." Ashina broke into tears and sweat.

"Yes." Chuchin nodded. "You better pluck some fruits around and walk through that path so you'll reach the palace faster, then you take the fresh fruits to the queen mother and tell her you went to get some fresh fruits for her."

Chuchin took a swipe at Ashina's sweat-streaked face with a snowy-white handkerchief.

Unbelievable! She was trapped forever! She'd put the feeling down to an unnamed yearning.

"Let's go, I'll help you." Chuchin offered, jumping to pluck some mangoes. "Give up this ambition of trying to escape, it will lead you to early death."

"I'd pick death of this, over and over again." Ashina spat. She managed to pierce her grief and sense of reserve. The forces that rules her life right now were bigger than her.

***

Ashina washed the fruits and placed them neatly on the dinning.

Each time she remembered her discussion with Chuchin and Morgan on separate occasions, her heart raced. What if her uncle would never come? She decided to wave the bad thoughts away and keep her inner mind and spirit positive.

"Thank you.." Morgan muttered.."slave girl.." She added immediately to conceal suspicion when Danciana raised her eyebrows.

Danciana gave Morgan an impressed smile. She looked at Ashina.

"Here, have some avocado pear.." Danciana said to Ashina, teasingly. "It's an order."

Ashina stretched her hands towards Danciana and received the avocado pear, she smiled self consciously, then bit the avocado pear. It was bad and terrible. Spoilt! There were maggots filled in it.

"Go on, eat everything!" Danciana ordered. "Eat, that is the only fruit that befits a slave."

Ashina ate the avocado, awfully quiet.

"I must warn you, swain, my soon to be In-laws will be coming here tomorrow and they will stay until the wedding, please don't catch their eyes and spoil their appetite." Danciana warned. "Do you copy?"

"Yes your majesty." Ashina nodded.

"Great." Danciana said, then bit a mango sensually. "This is good, I wasn't aware the mangoes were already ripened. Good job Ashina. Continue like this and you will be greater than your father in serving the palace..well only that you won't succeed in killing anyone."

Ashina held back the tears. She wasn't worth her precious tears.

A memory quickly flashed into her mind. She saw a girl of about five years old and a boy of that same age play round the same dinning she was standing in presently. The kids looked happy and very interested in their play.

She came back to reality when she felt hot soup pour all over her face. As expected, it was Danciana!

"Slave girl! Where was your mind?" Danciana rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you were lost in your witches coven."

"I am not a witch!" The words flew out of Ashina's mouth before she could control her tongue. The very minute it came out she regretted her existence. "No no no no! I mean yes! I'm a witch! I'm a witch! I'm a witch!" Ashina sang repeatedly, hoping to escape torture.

Danciana laughted hysterically, enjoying Ashina's misery.

***

The days went by and Ashina's uncle didn't come. Everyday she looked forward to seeing him but she didn't. She exhaled hard, struggling to agree that Princess Morgan was right, he'd never come.

She sat downstairs chewing on cherries. Today was Prince Gonzalo's wedding and she was warned to stay out of sight. The wedding help upstairs, in the palace hall, while she sat downstairs, close to the hall, glaring at the hall window.

She wondered who agreed to marry such a mean and ruthless man. Was she forced? Or she was marrying him out of her own will and accord. Of course she was forced, as the Alpha's mate she had no choice than to marry him.

Ashina looked up at the window, she caught a glimpse of the bride and pitied her. Alphas like Gonzalo were the type to assault their mates. If she had an opportunity to commune with the moon goddess, she'd intercede for the she wolves and beg for them to be allowed to choose their mates.

***

"As tradition demands, take a bowl of this powder color and empty on your bride to be. Whoever you empty the color on, you will take her home as your wife." The priest instructed and everyone cheered in the hall.

Gonzalo's eye brow puckered. He couldn't wait to get done with the marriage rites and return to his normal life. His mother had made the last few weeks miserable for him with her wedding preparations.

He gave Lupe a cool glance. She was looking absolutely stunning, good for her. She made a beautiful bride. He quickly shot his mother a tired glance, she nodded, beaming with smiles, giving him signals to hurry up with the marriage rites.

Throwing the color was the most interesting, tense and important part of the marriage rites in Poldark.

Lupe stood by the door, smiling excitedly as Gonzalo walked towards her with the bowl of color.

The crowd went wild when Gonzalo tripped and lost balance. There was an uproar. His bowl of color flew down the window and everything emptied on Ashina's body. Danciana raced to the window to see the end.

Ashina spat out the color, trying to wipe off some from her eyes, unaware of the significance. Was this another sort of punishment? She pondered. The color irritated her eyes a lot. She looked up only to see the murderous look Gonzalo and Danciana gave.