The royal parade had reached the end of the man-made path and gathered on the beach's edge, circled by the elite palace guards near the sea lines. The king and his attendants were standing on top of a rock structure which made them distinguishable even from a long distance.
Blocked by the other royal members, the girl whose action stopped the king stood timidly without radiating a significant presence.
The people remained in their kneeling position but their commotion was rising after the heated argument between the king and my grandfather. Insults and disrespectful words were thrown at us yet my grandfather acted as if they spoke nothing of ill intent to him. I wished I had this composure ability of his.
"Brat's lucky the king was being too god. Even I would crush that imp, he's a fish bait soon," an individual talked behind us and it only took one glare from grandfather to shut him up for good.
He then turned to me with an unsettling smile and squeezed my shoulder vigorously, "glad you are in for it now. Remember, this is a taste of the future that you wanted. I promise not to expect much but try your best anyway, huh," he spoke with pride, already forgetting his reputation as the person who dared to talk back to the country ruler.
"But if you wanted to get out now, I won't be troubled with that. Are you sure about this?" he asked again to make sure.
I nodded determinedly with the spear in hand, reminding myself to not hesitate against someone who called anyone a fool easily. I knew it was a bad attempt to offer a small number of tributes, but what kind of leader looked down on his people that way.
I could only redeem ourselves by fighting his guard and he picked the best candidate possible to add. Maybe the guy was right, I would become one with the fishes not long enough.
The music stopped, followed by the people heavily applauding the percussion players before a word tore through the crowd's ears.
"ATTENTION!" a guard yelled using every sound he could gather from his throat which silenced the crowd effectively.
Without waiting further, another charismatic speech took over the situation.
"Greetings, my people of Rahangga! We have finally met again on this bright day!" the king started his talk in a loud voice.
"As all of you know on this occasion, we are going to have a selection ceremony for elite positions in my army today. However, first and foremost, I want to declare an important announcement about a report that will determine the future of our kingdom," he paused a bit to inhale before uttering his next words.
"Our enemies from the Samadra Kingdom had been finished!" he shouted even more loudly than before and raised his hand onto the clear blue sky, inviting the people to join his roar. Just like I predicted beforehand, the people were rejoicing the great news of enemies' defeat very excitedly.
Everyone cheered the king and also whistled for his achievement several times. There were also hordes of chantings in the middle with repeated lines of 'long live the king'.
The king made a sign with his hand to stop the crowd, a feat only he himself could achieve. People returned to their attentive mode immediately afterward.
"This brings us to the next important announcement for the kingdom to make. Regretfully, our previous army commander, Moharta had found his end on the battlefield. May the founder of this land took him with them on our beautiful sea. In short, he fought bravely until our victory and we will make sure his sacrifice will never be in vain! Those savages had gotten what they deserved! I have decided to promote the warrior that also fought his best against everyone in the hectic battle. Come here Sharka!" he called one of his guards to join him on top of the rock.
Not to my surprise, it was the big buffed guy the king boasted to me previously. He walked to the king's side with full dignity and grandeur.
His hair was tied to a bun and his face was actually not bad. He was still young, maybe in his early twenties. As he made his entrance, the crowd kept on being silent not to disrupt him.
"I present to you... Sharka! He will become the new Rahangga army commander as of today and he will lead the troops for the following campaigns. He made his debut here as a candidate for elite warrior after becoming part of Rahangga troops for some years. This person here is a great example of a chosen elite warrior on the battlefield, fighting the enemies valiantly and also giving off the presence of a leader. Now, as of my promise..." he paused again to call someone, this time it was a woman behind him.
She was genuinely beautiful with long hair that was tied together, bright orange cloth which wrapped her upper body, and a patterned sarong around her hip.
"Just like I had promised before, the warrior who could display a remarkable feat on a major battle against the kingdom of Samadra would be rewarded with marriage to one of my daughters. From today onwards, Commander Sharka and Princess Aswari will unify as an official royal couple through my blessing!" he finished with a satisfied tone which once again ignited an applause from the people.
Sharka waved his hand proudly as the crowd cheered for the new couple while the princess only followed flatly. She was neither happy nor dejected about the situation, her face showed an expression devoid of emotion.
When the crowd continued to be as noisy as possible, a spear suddenly flew to the couple. The man was targeted by the shot. His right chest was punctured shallowly before he caught it with his hand. Everyone became panicked and a small riot near them was commencing.
A man I assumed to be the perpetrator appeared before them angrily. He was restrained by the guard but he powered through all of them. It didn't take much time for me to notice his missing leg and arm which were wrapped in white clothes, probably a result of the wars.
"Damn you! I am part of that troop too and this is how you treat me?! She's mine!" his shoutings faintly entered my ear, a roar full of rage and disappointment. After more soldiers intervened, he was finally brought down in the middle of his fit and dragged far away from the beach.
What was all that?
All attention returned to Sharka who effortlessly removed the spear like it didn't damage him at all. He raised his hand for all the people to see and shouted, "I am fine!". With that one move, the crowd's intensity was reduced but the shock was still on everyone's face.
The king checked the wound on him once again before turning to the crowd, "the intruder had been dealt with. The ceremony shall commence without further delay! We will start with prayers from the candidates."
Ignoring the confusion among the people, the selection ceremony started without any more hassle. All of the contestants walked to the edge of sea waves with their offerings in hand before kneeling down and bowed to the sea. We repeated the bow three times while being washed away by the seawater, chanting gratitudes for our ancestors.
After that, we fully soaked our bodies under the water and returned to our initial line. The king and some of the guards returned to the center point to start the ritual. "All of you have been cleansed with the water and now we will start to split you up," he said before commanding the soldiers to pick our tributes. They started to drag our offerings and gathered them in one place quickly.
Then, the guards created multiple circles with their bodies that would act as a cage for fighting people. They formed about twenty or more circles if I cared to count so contestants would take turns until few people remained.
"Usually only the last two people will receive the elite title, however this time I will grant an exception," the king continued to no one but me. "If you can win against Sharka right now then I will immediately hire you as an elite, you will have great pay as my guard. Fair, isn't it?" He described everything smugly as if provoking me. The other contestants who were going to fight already made their way to the designated circles.
"Yes, your highness," I bowed to him as a form of gratitude and stepped into the human cage. My enemy had waited there with a spear in his hand. Grandfather and also children my age were watching on the sidelines, thrilled to see how it would come out.
In front of me, Sharka stood with a wrapping near his chest. His wound must have been still untreated until then.
"Is it okay to fight with your condition?" I asked sincerely to him.
"This is but a scratch, nothing to be worried of. Get your weapon ready!" he told me firmly before getting his spear from the ground.
We untied the rope which bound both the sharp tip and the stick, using only the wooden part to fight. As I prepared my stance, I looked at my side where the king was standing under an umbrella that one of his guards provided.
His weird grin was replaced by a serious look, one you would expect from a leader. The girl was standing behind him, watching me as the fight was about to begin.
My hands were covered in sweat. The heartbeat was going wild. But my feet were steady beneath the sand.
"Begin!" one guard shouted.
Thus, I stepped and made a charge.