The servants carefully escort the Bae with the finest seaside scenery embroidered fine silk serve as the screen not to expose the Bae from the grand umalahokan. The umalahokan bowed respect of the grand Bae and he started to read the royal decree from the empress.
"Well mannered and beautiful heiress of Suli province is an official candidate of the Kasa Buya festival. The empress order of your arrival of the Agueirra capital within 2 full moons as the grand festival begins."
Bae Maylin sigh as she already expected she could never escaped from the fate of being the Suli's eldest. Her father rose proudly while showing off his tattoos from his victor wars as well as her mother elegantly received the decree notched in the bamboo trunk cut. Her gaze fell on her youngest brother who will inherit the province after she will send off to the household she will surely be tied. If only she was just an ordinary daughter of the Malayas how great would it be to live without rules.
After the umalahokan left, she retired to her room and dismissed all her slaves except Elanga, her favored and childhood friend.
She grabbed her unfinished panubok and delicately resumes embroidering her craft. Her faithful slave silently watched her at her back, sitting erect without unnecessary movement to annoy her Bae.
"Give me the punyal," Maylin ordered as she spots it in Elanga's long skirt hidden purposely for protection.
"But Bae, you are going to cut the threads again from the silk and start over another panubok, I'm afraid you are not going to finish the panubok for the Kasa Buya," her slave replied while hesitantly hand her the dagger.
Maylin glared at Elanga as it finally hand the dagger and cut her craft as what her slave predicted. Elanga quickly keep the cloth and hide it in her skirt. Her annoyed Bae throw the dagger at the wooden post as it buried it sharp tip adding the notch that her lady always do when annoyed. Maylin may have composed look whenever she is in front of her family and relatives yet she lost her cool inside her sanctuary.
"Elanga," while glancing at her slave.
"Yes Bae."
"You better accompany me with that cursed festival and you should make sure no noble or prince will have interest in picking my panubok."
Elanga gets terrified. She has no clue of how to make it done. Her High Lord would probably wring her neck yet she nodded at her Bae. She could never resist on obeying her benevolent master.
"But Bae, how would I, your lowly servant be able to get rid of the princes or noble lords of getting your panubok? They will discover your unheard beauty and excellence in all of the skill thus the Lord Suli will definitely kill me. I'd rather be killed in your hands than the lord's." she answered as she tried to ease her Bae's anger.
"I'll deal anything of it. All you need to do is…" as Maylin whispered to Elanga hearing her mother's footsteps to the other room next to her. Elanga nodded in agreement as she had no choice then.