"Raha Sitan, please marry me!"
Ha! Take that, Apo Bathala. Isn't my marriage proposal for Raha Sitan pretty smooth? It would be the most memorable proposal in Maharlika's history.
That is, however, solely on Amara's head. She secretly wishes the earth will split open and swallow her entirely. She can't believe she's proposing to the antagonist of the story.
This feels like a fucking nightmare!
She wanted to make herself proud of what she had done. However, she felt shivers down her spine as she pictured the absolute terror of being the villain's wife.
This stupid scene is really out of place. How can these events happen so fast?
She's preparing her escape one day and proclaiming her love to the enemy the next. To make matters worse, she is the one who proposed!
It's harder than she thought.
If it wasn't for the deal that she will meet her grandma again, Amara would never do this even if she's offered a lot of money.
There was a long pause before Raha Sitan regained his composure and averted Amara's gaze. His face flushed red like a ripe tomato. And because the sun was still up high, it was too visible for everyone to miss.
"If, if you do it like that, my dear wife, then how can I deny your proposal?" he asked, gently clearing his throat and speaking in a very timid voice, almost like a lady being confessed to by her beloved man.
Amara kept a straight face even though she wanted to cringe so bad.
What the hell was that flustered expression? It's scared the shit out of me.
She did her best to give Raha Sitan a nice smile. "Of course, I will be the happiest woman in Maharlika if we get married right away."
Oh, my goodness, the humiliation is killing me. I'm not sure what kind of mistakes I made in my previous life to get me in this predicament.
"Amara, you've truly gone insane!" Hari exclaimed. "You are the princess of the Hiraya tribe; how dare you marry the Apo Mumbaki, our family's enemy? Have you no shame? He is destroying our territory right now!"
Amara pretended to be sorrowful, tears glistening in her eyes as she gazed at Raha Sitan. "Please stop attacking the Hiraya territory, Raha Sitan; if you do, I promise to elope with you."
Who knows I have this talent? I could win a Best Actress Award for this!
But enough with the self-compliment. Raha Sitan need to stop his madness right now.
She was afraid Raha Sitan would be obstinate and refuse to back down. However he swiftly rose up, flicked his fingers, and smiled sweetly at her, much to Amara's astonishment. "My wife, I have stopped the attack; shall we go now?"
That fast?
He held his hand to her but Bagani Hiraya shouted at her.
"Amara Hiraya, are you seriously biting the hands that fed you?"
He was glaring at her. And she could see the disappointment in his solemn eyes.
But Amara cannot sympathize with him, because she is just doing this to meet her grandmother again.
Despite the fact that she had formed relationships with the Hiraya family of this world, she always felt a sense of separation from them, as if they were too far away to be considered her family.
Was it because she'd only been here a month? Or was it because she related with Amara Hiraya's persona in terms of how her life had been prior to this?
Is it possible that the original Amara Hiraya probably killed herself and died because she felt the pressure of being a direct Hiraya woman in this family, rather than because she met Raha Sitan?
I can't draw any conclusions since I have a bad feeling about them, Apo Bagani in particular.
Amara inhaled deeply and then spoke carefully. "I understand that you regard this action of mine as treason, Apo Bagani, but this is the only chance for us to save the tribe; if I don't go with him and submit to his demands, I fear I will lose all of you."
This was not a hoax. Because, in the novel, after Amara's death, Raha Sitan nearly wiped out the Hiraya tribe, killing about a thousand Katalonans. Father Lakandula suffered serious injuries and lost an arm, Bagani Hiraya vanished, Hari got insane as a result of Amara's death, Damian went blind, Datu was murdered by Manong a month later, and little Gaki was left to care for his family alone.
She was on the verge of crying, but she kept her cool. "So please, Apo Bagani, please sacrifice me to Raha Sitan in order to save our family, in order to save this tribe from the enemy; it would be my greatest honor to contribute to our tribe."
"No, my child, there is still a way for us to save the tribe; I and your Apo can still fight him; you don't have to do this!" screamed Lakandula, who charged directly at her, but Apo Bagani stopped his path. "Apo, she is my only daughter; she may be rebellious at times, but she does not deserve this kind of suffering. This is not her job, this is our duty as the Katalonans of this tribe!"
"Worry not, dear father-in-law," Raha Sitan said still smiling despite the gloomy atmosphere, "I will take good care of Amara."
"You bastard!"
It was Lakam's turn to speak. "Amara, please don't do this, our mother and little Gaki is waiting for your return."
Amara's eyes welled up with tears as soon as she heard the youngest sibling's name. She would have spent all of her free time on Gaki if she had known all of this would happen. But she is unable to do so, now that she has to go with Raha Sitan.
"Kuya Lakam, kuya Hari, kuya Datu, kuya Damian, please don't tell Gaki about this; just tell him that I had to travel somewhere right away and that I might not be able to return; please take good care of our ading."
Finally, Apo Bagani Hiraya heaved a sigh. He was still glaring at Raha Sitan, but it was obvious that he was already defeated. He then said, "Stay away from the Hiraya tribe, Raha Sitan." He then turned to Amara. "May I just ask why you decided to go with him?"
Amara racked her brain for a plausible answer, because she couldn't just say Apo Bathala instructed her to do it so she could see her previous life's grandmother. They aren't going to believe a word she says.
She then remembered Apo Bagani Hiraya's character.
Bagani Hiraya is a character in the story who is passionately concerned about the Hiraya tribe. It's more significant than his own life, and perhaps even more so than his blessed immortality. He is a patriotic man who will go to any length to ensure that the Hiraya tribe remains peaceful.
With that being said, Amara was able to respond. "It is Apo Bathala's will. Do you recall when I told you that I saw a premonition that Raha Sitan would escape from his prison? I also saw my own death for escaping from Raha Sitan, and with my death I saw," Amara said, her voice low and ominous. "I witnessed our tribe's downfall."
"That is absurd!" Hari goes on to exclaim. "We are the strongest tribe in this continent, how can we lose to just one Mumbaki?"
"Hari, do not easily underestimate your opponent," said Apo Bagani. It's because he knows Raha Sitan more than anyone else. "What else do you want, Apo Mumbaki?"
"First, I am taking Amara with me to become my wife," Raha remarked cheerfully, "and I am also thinking of bringing back my Sitan tribe." Then, with a voice full of intimidation, he said, "Don't you dare get in my way again, Bagani Hiraya. I don't want you or even the Kapatiran meddling in my affairs."
"I cannot promise you anything," Bagani Hiraya said.
"Then I cannot promise that I won't kill you either," Raha Sitan replied.
"I'll be the one to kill you first, Apo Mumbaki."
"Bagani Hiraya, do you think I am afraid of you? Did you also think I don't know what you are hiding?" Raha Sitan's playful smile turned into a sinister one as soon as he saw Bagani Hiraya's shocked face. His blood-colored irises glowed as he mockingly spoke, "You will never be able to beat me, Bagani. You weren't able to achieve anything for the past three hundred years. Just by plainly looking at you, I know that you're really not an—"
"Raha Sitan!" Bagani Hiraya shouted, cutting off what Raha Sitan was about to say. It was the first time that he spoke of the Apo Mumbaki's name that's why Amara became curious.
There was no revelation about Bagani Hiraya's secret in the novel. This must be a mystery scene that was unlocked because she changed the entirety of the story.
And Raha Sitan really knows how to stir him. The look on Bagani Hiraya's face gave him so much pleasure. "I'm just telling the truth, Bagani. Don't be too agitated just because I am speaking about facts."
"Leave now!"
"Amara!" Lakandula was sobbing this time as he called her name. "Forgive this father for being weak. Forgive me because I was not able to save you, my child. I'm so sorry I had used my hands against you, I truly regret my actions. This father is truly sorry that this unfortunate thing happened to you. You don't deserve to suffer, you only deserve to live happily!"
Amara gasped when she heard this as she cried with her father.
Ah, is this how it feels to have a father? Thankfully my father was not that evil after all, maybe he was just too strict.
"Father, do not say sorry," Amara said to him in between sobs. "If by chance that I am still alive after this, I'm sure we will meet again somewhere in this continent. Just take good care of yourself and I will do my best."
Amara was still crying when she heard her kuya Lakam speak, "Amara, Amara, we will find you. I promise that we will take you—"
However, Amara was not able to hear more of her kuya's words because their surroundings instantly changed. When she looked around, she realized that she was now standing, with Raha Sitan and Manong, on the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast, gloomy forest.