Driven by that crazy tiny voice in his head, Vince unknowingly took four steps! It was only when he was a step closer to the prince's back that his rationality came back. He immediately stepped back upon realizing his improper action, but this evil thought kept tempting him, telling him that his intention was pure and real. All he wanted was to hug the prince. It wasn't a dishonorable act at all. Upon thinking this, that force in his body seemed to be alive again and strongly urged him to move two steps forward. Looking at the prince's back this close, Vince's desire intensified. He took another step forward, and after a long mental struggle, he slowly lifted his right foot, ready to take the final step, with all determination. Suddenly, Red jumped down from Gorgeous' back and rushed towards the prince. Prince Aiji bent down, picking up the little monkey.
"It's getting dark, Dari, let's go now."
The soft voice entered Vince's ears. Prince Aiji picked up Red and patted the little primate. Then he walked forward without looking back.
"What! Ah... Okay! Let's go now..."
Vince, who was putting all his strength and determination to carry out his unfit but not dishonorable act, was suddenly interrupted. He was disappointed but was also relieved knowing that he didn't do anything malicious.
"You're too lame!"
That tiny voice in his thought scolded him, but Vince just shook this thought off. The prince was picking up his weapons, so he followed.
It was already nightbreak when they walked towards the hill. It didn't take them too long to reach the place. In the dusk, Vince saw the cheerful princess. Prince Lontoc was also in his best mood greeting them.
"It's good that you came! Come, follow us to our camp."
Prince Lontoc was glad and led them uphill.
"Brave warrior, come follow me I will lead you the way!" The bratty princess stood opposite Vince, with her mischievous smile.
"Please don't bother little princess, I have my friend and little animals here, we will just follow behind."
Vince stepped back and caressed Gorgeously.
"Who is the little princess here! I'm old enough to marry!" Princess Lyka protested while pouting her lips.
Vince was speechless, not knowing how to handle little brats, so he chose to remain silent.
"Lyka! Come over here, don't bother our guests." Prince Lontoc called.
The bratty princess moved to his brother's side.
The group began trekking the bushy hill. Prince Lontoc led the way, holding a torch that was made from dried palm leaves that were bound together. He was followed by the princess and five warriors. Vince and Prince Aiji, with the little animals, followed behind. Three warriors were left to guard the tribe entrance.
Upon reaching the top, Vince saw a flickering flame in the distance.
"That's our camp below. We will go down and we'll be able to reach the camp." Prince Lontoc said.
Vince nodded in response and they started going down. Half an hour later, they reached the camp.
In the bushy valley, Vince saw a well-built hut, illuminated by the flickering flame he saw earlier. The wall was built with evenly cut woods while the roof was made of neatly piled palm leaves. An old man, in his mid-fifties, was squatting near the campfire. He was also dressed in a red coat and pants, but without golden accessories in his body. He looked simple but with a strong and imposing personality. The old man and the surrounding warriors welcomed them.
"Lontoc you're back! Who are these fine-looking young men?"
The old man looked at them. When he saw Vince, there was a flash of shock in his old eyes, but it was quick that only Vince caught it. It was so quick that even Vince doubted that it was just his imagination. The old man was polite and hospitable. Prince Aiji wasn't as wary as he was when they met the cannibals, so Vince was at ease.
"Uncle, these are Vince and Jester. Lyka was playing at the river again and almost drowned. They rescued her." Prince Lontoc said.
"Young men thank you for your kindness. I am Mino, Lontoc and Lyka's uncle."
The old man smiled at Vince and Prince Aiji but turned to Princess Lyka with a rigid face.
"Your sister is always having trouble here, send her home tomorrow."
The old man scolded. The princess silently protested but didn't dare talk the old man back.
"Yes, uncle."
"Uhm, since we owe these young men a favor, let's cook a satisfying dinner. Lontoc, let our guests rest while we prepare a good meal. Lyka, come help us here."
The old man said and then smiled at Vince and Prince Aiji again.
Prince Lontoc invited them inside the hut. Vince kept the little animals at the side.
Inside, Vince saw many weapons piled in the racks. There were five racks filled with sharp spears. Another five were filled with bows and metal-tipped arrows. There were also three racks filled with swords and daggers. Although these swords and daggers aren't as fine as what he saw in modern times, still these are good weapons. The most eye-catching, especially to the modern man Vince is, these weapons were all nicely decorated with gold.
Seeing such treasures, Vince was amazed. Prince Lontoc who noticed his admiration came over.
"These weapons are finely made by our warriors. We are known to produce good and effective weapons that frightened our neighboring tribes. Only the Apitong tribe on the other side had the guts to constantly attack our warriors at night, but all they did was shoot arrows from a distance. They didn't dare step even a single foot in our territory." Prince Lontoc bragged.
"These are indeed amazing weapons!"
Vince praised. He glanced at Prince Aiji next to him but he didn't find any amusement in his eyes.
"Aren't these weapons great?" Vince whispered.
"We have more and better weapons than these in our tribe. Since we ran away, we only brought our weapons."
It was hard to impress a wealthy man, especially a grumpy one.
"Especially a jealous one!" That naughty
a voice in his head whispered.
Vince smiled. Prince Aiji stared at him.
"Ah... I don't remember our weapons..." Vince whispered back, scratching his head.
They kept on inspecting the weapons while the old man, the princess, and the warriors were busy preparing their dinner. Prince Aiji was quiet most of the time. Vince was glad that the old man gave the princess a cooking task, otherwise, she will keep on pestering him.
After two hours of examining the weapons, the old man's voice called. The cooking was done and dinner was served. They went out and saw a long table filled with food. There were different kinds of wild fruits, boiled taros and yams, roasted wild chicken, and they even roasted a whole wild boar.
"Young men, please help yourselves." The old man was polite and hospitable. His air was amiable.
"Yes.. thank you very much!"
Vince said politely and washed his hands on the wooden basin filled with clean water after Prince Aiji. He was delighted since it was his first large meal in this ancient world and his first time interacting with an ancient crowd.
"Thank you, elder." Prince Aiji's soft voice was grateful too.
"You are very welcome. Come and sit here."
The smiling elder pointed to their seats. There were banana leaves lined on the table for eating, and on the ground for sitting. The warriors settled themselves. Vince sat beside Prince Aiji.
Opposite to them was Prince Lontoc with the princess on her left side and the old man on the right. From the moment Vince sat down, the young bratty princess didn't take her eyes away from him.
It was the first time Vince encountered such a silly and stubborn young woman. He was uncomfortable, so he looked down.
"Spirits of the land, air, and water thank you for blessing us the food we are about to eat..." The old man closed his eyes and uttered a long piece of prayer. Prince Lontoc and the warriors did the same, but the young princess was just staring at Vince. It was an intense and sticky gaze. Who said that the ancient girls were modest!
The bratty princess ruined Vince's good impression of the ancient women, but of course, he knew that Princess Lyka is the only woman he met yet, so he cannot judge everyone.
Amidst this awkward mood, Vince glanced at Prince Aiji's side and saw the prince staring at the young princess. But, the young princess didn't even bother to look at the enraged prince, she kept staring at Vince without blinking. Vince was distressed, so he closed his eyes to join the prayer, but when he did the elder's cheerful voice echoed.
"Let's dig in!"
Finally, that long prayer was done.
It was a feast, so everyone was eating cheerfully, except the furious prince and the restless Vince. The warriors enjoyed the feast while chatting. The elder and Prince Lontoc were busy conversing too. Sometimes they asked both Vince and Prince Aiji some questions. Both of them tried to give a sincere response, but most of the time they were quiet, suffering mental and emotional trouble.
"Why did I feel guilty? There isn't any reason to feel this way. There's nothing between me and the princess, except for the princess' one-sided admiration. It's beyond my control so the fault isn't mine. And, there is nothing between me and the prince too, except for those... the strange improper desire of mine... But, it wasn't improper because my intention was pure... I care for him... I don't want him to get mad...I don't want him to get hurt... I want to protect him forever... Eh?! Forever!?"
This word was quite heavy and his feelings seemed to be beyond normal.
"Am I... in love with Prince Aiji?"
This was a shocking realization, but Vince didn't feel that it was strange. He knew he was branded by his subordinates as a homophobe, and he also thought so because he was annoyed every time he caught Sanchez hitting Jester, but to his surprise, he didn't feel a sliver of disgust when he realized that he had probably fallen to a man.
"If this is love... Do I have enough courage to express it properly? Do I have enough will to fight and protect this kind of love?"
In front of a satisfying meal, someone was lost in his thoughts.