"It's not about me being scared or not," said Satya as he removed the worry on his face from Lathifa's gaze. "However, wouldn't it be better if we could rest in a more appropriate place?"
"I don't know how things work in your time," said Lathifa. "But in this day and age, people are used to sleeping out in the open when it's nighttime on a trip."
Crazy! This is all crazy! Satya thought. Aren't they afraid of being robbed or harassed by others with bad intentions? Or at least, in insects and venomous animals?
"Hey," Satya whispered to the girl while observing the condition of the crowd around them. "Do all the markets here only open in the early evening?"
Latifa smiled. She deliberately took Satya's hand to avoid suspicion from the people there, especially the one or two soldiers also patrolling with their horses in the market streets.
The man quite understood what Lathifa was doing.
"Not all markets are like this one," Lathifa felt a little comfortable by laying her head on Satya's shoulder. "Only certain markets."
A little different from the one in my world, thought Satya, especially in the Jakarta area. There are days when there is always a night market that offers merchandise and entertainment for the lower middle class.
"This way," Lathifa took Satya by the hand, turning left when they had reached the other end of the market.
The further they left the market, the quieter it was around them, and the darker it got. Only the sounds of insects and nocturnal animals could be heard.
Satya smirked. If in my world, in this darkness, very few people would want to leave the house, almost none, he thought.
But apparently not in this era, an era where there is no lighting that uses electricity. Not at all. Darkness is a part of their life. And these people were very familiar with it, including Lathifa herself.
"Is the location still far?"
"Be patient," said Lathifa. He smiled to find that the man was slightly out of breath. "Are you feeling tired?"
"Huh?"
Lathifa shrugged her shoulders. "You look very tired, Satya. Are you not used to walking in your world?"
Satya smirked holding back his laughter. It can't be said that he is not used to walking everywhere, in fact, he even walks to and from his work.
However, everything is very different. There are cars and other vehicles in his world that can be used to save travel time.
Well, it's not here yet. Only horse-drawn carriages or those drawn by buffalo, or cows that Satya had been able to find. And even then it can only be used by those who are said to have more money.
"No," said Satya. "Not like that."
"Are you sure?"
"Alright, alright," Satya chuckled. "Apart from commuting to and from work, in my day, I used to use a lot of vehicles that I'm sure don't exist in this day and age."
"Oh, I see?"
"I don't know how to explain all that to you. But, you're right. I'm a little tired."
"If we find a good place later, we'll just rest."
"No, I don't think it's necessary. I just need to get used to it."
Lathifa smiled, she wrapped her arms around Satya's hand.
"Tell me," said Satya. "Where exactly the house of Ken—"
"Shh!" Lathifa noticed the conditions around them. "Don't say that name again. We don't know whose ears are behind the darkness."
Satya took a deep breath. That's right, he thought. With Kencana Ireng being declared a traitor by Pramudya Antaguna, it means that everything that comes into contact with him will immediately receive special attention from the people around, especially the courtiers.
"I mean," said Satya. "That house?"
"That house is on the east side of the area we call Kingstown."
"Kingstown?"
"A large area that surrounds the palace of Artapurana," said Lathifa. "Only certain people are allowed to live in the area. Or those who work in the palace."
"Oh, I see?" Satya nodded. "Hey, will this not raise their suspicion of us later?"
"There's no need to worry," said Lathifa. "That ancestor of yours doesn't live within the Kingstown area."
"Then?"
"To the east, Satya. East."
"Yeah, you've said the same thing over and over again," Satya snorted. "I mean, the exact location, where is it?"
"Outside the walls of Kingstown," said Lathifa. "There is a hilly area with a quite dense forest. Your ancestors built a house there."
"Ah, okay."
They kept going, only occasionally did they run into one or two residents, or a slow-moving cart pulled by a buffalo. The more the moon crawled away, the quieter it became around the dirt road that Lathifa and Satya walked. Had Lathifa not been by his side, Satya might have preferred to just go back to the market earlier, wait for morning to come, and only then continue on his way.
But he couldn't do that, not in front of Lathifa who could make his pride as a man fall. So, even though he was a little scared, he still forced his feet to move.
When the moon was at its highest point, the two of them had just arrived in front of the southern gate of the Kingstown area. There were four soldiers carrying spears standing guard at the gate.
Just by looking at the condition of the gate alone, Satya could already understand that they would not be allowed to just enter the Kingstown area.
"Just act normal," whispered Lathifa without turning to Satya.
Yeah, it looks like it had to be done, thought Satya. They then turned right, towards the east.
"Hey," a soldier called out to Satya and Lathifa.
"Keep calm, Satya," whispered Lathifa trying to smile at the soldier.
"You two are very affectionate," the soldier chuckled, as did his three friends. "Are you newlyweds?"
"You're right, sir," said Lathifa because Satya was still nervous. "We just got married this morning."
"Aah, I see," the soldier and his companions laughed even more.
"Yeah," said Satya and gulped.
"You're lucky, man," said the soldier to Satya. "Your wife is very beautiful."
"They will be very tired tonight!" another soldier said, and again they were laughing.
"And sweat!"
"All right, all right," said the first soldier. "Go on, man. Take your wife home right away, and after that—you know what I mean, don't you?"
"Of course," Satya smiled and nodded.
The soldiers were still laughing while Satya and Lathifa continued their steps to the right side, towards the east.