At the peak of quietness, Aarabeth changed her smirking look into a sincere sorry attitude, relaying her sorry for the shattered glass. In the incoherent words she converses with the other nobles, a frugal-dressed boy was tasked to clean after the mess.
Making her exit, Aarabeth started her slow struts of stable shoulders and elegantly swaying hips. The men of the crowd darted their gazes over, but they were careful not to stare too long.
A short train of the silk dress sweeps the crimson patterned carpet, two maidens were following the trails of Aarabeth before they separated, the two maidens reached the four marble surfaces and sat at the leftmost table besides the two young men who arrived much earlier. At the direction of the rightmost table, Aarabeth pulled the train of her dress and sauntered to the remaining vacant seat between Rosef and the guy with a smug on his face. While the four on her right and the three at her left were in conversations, she was being ignored purposefully. The smirk came back on her mood, and she flicked the feathered fan to brush small gentle winds at her lightly flying hair.
"She's tall." Euseff commented. Aarabeth would be just at the shoulder of Yules, but all the women in the room is below her shoulder.
"We are to stay away from her, she's a sly one." A boy inserted himself between Euseff and Jacksie, the younger ones cursed on him, giving up their space.
"Why are you seating here again, short-short Raynor? Your family's over there." Lynnally slighted the newcomer, aiming her chin to the other side of the cluster of tables.
"Sit tight, pipsqueak. I'm still taller than you." Raynor slighted her back, forcing the hand of Euseff to shake his greetings.
"I'm Raynor, call me big brother." Raynor flashed his white teeth. He mirrors most of men attending, but a scar at his right brow makes his deep set of eyes stands out.
"Big brother your face, you will remain that stance for all you dream." Lynnally told Euseff that Raynor's born at the first full moon of the year 3530, making him just probably a month of less old than him.
"So cousin Euseff, you have to listen to me attentively. Aarabeth is who you should stay away." Raynor speaks like he was gracing him with mere of his presence, and he brushed the bit of falling locks from the sides of his eye.
"Why?"
"She's building her own faction. The one that wishes to supersede Esibella's, Yules', and Sivastian's. She has already overtaken Liannis." Raynor said dismissively, like a free information anyone the island can get.
"Her faction took half the nobles siding with Liannis beforehand, now she's three times more than him. Worse that she had taken the support of Jacksons, the right hand of The Lord of Twelve Wardens."
"What are they fighting for?" Euseff is not understanding the crux of why Raynor just popped and advising him of caution when he might as well be the enemy. Euseff is aware in the rifts of nobility for power, none can be trusted, and he does do so.
"Mama didn't tell you this?" Raynor deduced Euseff's reaction.
"She didn't... "
"That's unnatural. That must be why you are as well not aware of what you are wearing." Jacksie was saddened over the escalating forgetfulness of Lady Tresinfort.
Raynor made his back to wall all the younger ones from intercepting his talks with Euseff. The ones at his back protested in grumbles, crossing their arms. Raynor chuckled, he was excited to hear Euseff has not sat the series of preliminaries curriculum just yet.
"I would then enlighten you, on Mama's behalf. But first you should know, I am one of her most promising students. I finished my preliminaries at age nine, year earlier than expected. I am also by the side of Mama often, maybe any day now, she will recognize me as her protégé." Raynor was not looking at Euseff while spouting the titles he proclaimed.
"Starting of The Dinings, it is a culture adapted from our Herroian Ancestors. In the past, villagers prepare a long single table that spans on all the streets of the village–it was previously called Boodle Fights. It represents camaraderie, brotherhood, and equality, the very symbol of the union of the Twelve Rivers."
"In practicality, The Twelve Rivers is just a newly established page of land torn apart. It would be akin to walled cities and fenced farmlands that is just dreaming to remove the closed metal gates to open for freedom and also because it does not look pleasing, while continuously repairing each brick of their walls and make it superficially too 'Beautiful' to be taken down."
Raynor looked at his left and right before lowering his voice, "It tingles them while writing their names before, between, or after ours, why? Simply say, the nobles are here in the secluded island for the fantasy of sprinkling petals of roses, and we are their masterpiece. They are pursuing the art of our knowledge and be part of our legacy. They are looking at their mirrors every morning, hoping to hear a secret of us believing the person they will conspire it with next will be lesser than them."
Different shades of green irises at the side had their ears trying to overhear what Raynor was saying, pulling each other's little arms to have a better position.
"It has always left me to wonder, why is it that even in the dead and lowest of times, the selfish nobles are plowing mud and wearing peasant clothes? Why do the nobles sell off their most promising descendants to babysit us here when they carry their pride as high as this castle? Why did these nobles agree to join the union anyways?"
"They are here in all these demises to spoil us with hardwork and loyalty not because they admire our leadership or wealth but waiting for a chance for us to blink. While our eyes were closed, they take advantage of our divides from the roots, you probably know the saying 'Feed the Masters well and become them.'"
"They want us... they wish to acquire the knowledge we possess for their own." Raynor gravely lowered his tone.
Euseff turned his head to the whispering boy, he did not directly understand the metaphors, but he knows the point being of the nobles waiting for the opportunity. He looked twice if he was just trying to horrify him. To his disappointment, the bluish green eyes did fail to lie. "They're waiting to get us k-killed?"
Jacksie jumped and the five other followed, wondering why he suddenly jumped, they did not hear a thing.
"Shhh, lower your voice." Raynor pulled down Euseff's neck as immediate as possible. "The factions are in an unstable stance, careful now."
Euseff nodded, still perplexed. "How do you know about this?"
Raynor brushed his hair. "I might have seen a letter or two from the capital, that's why you should listen to your big brother. I will teach you the ways of all the years we study in all of Survivability." He also catches some glance over the same open vault of letters that Euseff saw.
Hearing 'Survivability,' Euseff did listen. Deep inside, he was still hesitant hearing things he shouldn't know. It was too much, too overbearing. He is conflicting himself gradually, he did not see the day he wished to meet his father more sooner.
On their later conversations, Raynor explained the grandeur of The Dinings' nightly event is a cultural law which then reflected the clothes they must wear. The clothes of the Island Heads will be made of pineapple fibers that was brought from the capital to the island, those clothing emphasizes the one with authority,
The four tables is the embodiment of the Twelve Rivers' first pillars, the four children of Lord of the Twelve Wardens.
The Leftmost table is the youngest, Dioselene.
The Rightmost table is the third child, Georgio.
The lower left table is the second child, Diosreon.
The lower right is the first child, Diosephine.
Raynor also explained the parties are more formally called Fingers of the Factions he mentioned, the trio just doesn't study this area yet at preliminaries. They thought the parties are more like games and competitions for sheep herding and horse-riding. Survivability will be a course changing perspectives of the world, he said that Euseff would have it hard to try to internalize the preliminaries.
There were five factions existing:
The Five River Faction is supporting Esibella, this faction composed of nobles whom grown lands by the five rivers ending at The Mouth. The Mouth is the largest lake in Herroia that exits at the Lark River where the capital is situated.
The Rosmaten-Nordridge-Stallard faction supports Yulsivier, this faction is the most loyal to the capital and the wealthiest as being called 'The Food Cradle' among the Twelve Rivers.
The Southern Faction comprised the southern territories that was beyond of any river, they are the lands between the kingdoms that fairly benefits in land and sea trades. They support Liannis.
The Middle lands are behind Sivastian, they were previously under the care of Lady Dioselene and him being her eldest son.
A nameless faction being built by Aarabeth has overtaken most of Liannis as she was supported by her maternal family, The Eglantines. It also tries to court the sides of Esibella and Sivastian.
The boy of bluish green orbs has emphasized the lurking danger of Aarabeth. The Eglantines are known to explore the dangerous sides of the world, they carry crazy secrets that make them unique house amongst others.
"One, Two. The moon's two thumbs high from the horizon, The Dinings has started." Raynor counted the hour of dinner.
In the chime reverberating the entire castle walls yet again, everyone ushered to sit tight and fix their attires. The entire town is in the room, praying respect at the entry of the Island Heads.
Falling in line with certain distance, Lady Ellennis Tresinfort, Lord General Tresinfort, and Lord Sebaste walked the aisle with supreme dignity.
Both men wore a thin garment alike to a button shirt called Varone. The lady wore another piece named Caia with stiff protruding shapes by the shoulders called 'Butterfly Sleeves,' it manifests the warrior shoulders–portraying women are also blades of battlefield.
Each of the three bent a knee to bow at the empty carved wooden chair, the highest plane in the room, before finding their seats in the middlemost front table, below the four upper tables.
Bending the knee of Lord General Tresinfort, he whispered to a boy with an interesting hair color. The young boy who Euseff might bet to be his age ascended the steps towards the four tables at lower left. Looking at everyone, his sea green eyes is of pure innocence and kindness.
Euseff has not seen such otherworldly hair, it was red–a refined blood red hair that it forms a shadow and making the underneath parts appear like black shades.
"Was that his natural hair?" Euseff asked.
"Yes, alluring isn't it?" Jacksie muttered, also admiring the boy's sudden appearance.
"Why did he attend? West Castle and Helminguard Palace still four days to attend." Collen raised a question.
"Beats me, the lower right table's still unoccupied." Ripley followed.
The innocent and kind orbs were looking at the bulk of tables, skimming and searching for difference, then it stopped at the table of the five boys, one girl, Raynor, and the funny-looking guy. He sized up the guy and continued his skimming and searching.
"I think he's interested to see you." Lynnally guessed, pointing to Euseff.
"Me? Why do you think so?" Euseff speculated the girl's guess.
"I don't know, Sesar rarely goes out the West Castle, but he does enjoy seeing birds." Lynnally made a conjecture. The boy does not enjoy noises like The Dinings at all.
"Say, does he also have a faction?" Euseff marveled, he really wanted that hair.
"He's the second son of Lord of the Twelve Wardens, Sesar. Of course he can't be the one joining chaos." Lynnally recited his title.
Lord Sebaste tapped their table, sending waves of sign.
Lighting each other a candle, Lady Tresinfort left a spare unlit candle beside the vacant seat in the middle of them. They raised their candles and everyone bowed their heads, their hands at heart, eyes closed, then the crowd sang in low hum resonating:
"With awe, we gaze upon the sovereign's might,
Where beauty and sorrow dance into the night.
O Ruler of Martyrs, God of Flaws, we find peace,
As all things flourish, and then gently cease.
Your reign, where every loss is a gain,
In your equilibrium, joy and pain."
Moments of silence, the crowd clasped at the chest. Everyone muttered sounds only comprehensible to them, then the Island Heads blew the candles to denote the end of the song.
The belief to the God of Flaws is known to Euseff, it is one of the three faiths in Herroia. These three faiths are against the Magistries of Bat-hala and Gods Below. Disputing with the Bat-halaon, a magistry encompassing around Herroia, has made these faiths not to spread out from further.
Finding their breaths from the gospel, people shook and congratulated each other and started the feast.
No servants, no waitresses, no maids, the nobles prepared their own food. Plucking over the limbs of roasted beef and chicken to scooping their own soups and rice. Euseff found this sight to behold.
Following Raynor, Euseff scooted at the line of nobles waiting for their turn at the mountains of food. He saw the Island Head still kneeling and praying while the children at the four tables still sitting. An innocent sea green gaze follows him silently.
Locking with the innocent eyes, Euseff saw Sesar not blinking or looking away. He found the stare uncomfortable so he hid behind Raynor although he is ear taller than him.
"You don't eat greens?" Raynor asked, seeing Euseff purposefully avoiding the vegetables splaying juicy and rather appealing freely in front of him but he still picked the burnt meat in stick.
"I don't." Euseff straightforwardly.
"Oh you will be an enemy of Aarabeth nonetheless I see." Raynor sized the meat lover and concluded with a smile, brushing his swaying hair.
"I get the Vicol Express, you get the Cisig." Lynnally pulled the cup of a meat in sauce of white and pink from Jacksie, exchanging the crisped minced meat filled with ring red onions and torn onion leaves.
"Can you pull me some ladle of the Phakbett, please?" Collen asked for Raynor, unable to conquer the challenge of reaching the mixed green and yellow from the other end of the Boodle Fight serving.
Enjoying the different tastes, the children finished after their second rounds. Only Jacksie was left still munching and grazing his third-round plate.
"What?" Jacksie's cheek reddened, swallowing guiltily.
"Nothing." Euseff trying to restrain himself from pinching.
Vision wandering around, Euseff has noticed that behind the Four Tables was an opening. It has a black door varnished smoothly. The windows almost reaching the ceiling has an intricate pattern on the windowsills, it was words Euseff was still unable to read. Then the floor marbles are full of drawn shapes in different sizes. Removing his steps, Euseff saw three words comprehensible.
"Narlissa Etidorpha Hamburg"
At the bottom of the name,
"Year 5862-5967"
"The Queen of South"
"Beheaded by Revolution"
"Empire of Belnifor"
The well-fed stomach of Euseff cramped. He is stepping on a grave.
At the rightmost of the four tables, Abrinne saw the two of her little brothers arguing at each other while the others either were half asleep or listening intently to Raynor like he was telling a bedtime story. Abrinne is interested to what might Raynor is telling them, he is one of those who had life outside before, she only had the pictures and words of what is outside the island. Now there is Euseff as well.
"Look at them, they might actually believe what our 'Short Chicken' ever says. Do you think Raynor was telling them what his life was outside?" Abrinne nudged Esibella to follow her gaze.
"That's the only story that can make those little devils gasp at him. Not even to us they listen, only Jacksie is the most promising lamb." Esibella giggled with Abrinne.
Unlike them being the 'Older Siblings,' the ages of their younger siblings are far-fetched from them whom they are not allowed to give guidance. The 'Younger Siblings', ages thirteen and below, are still under the guidance of Lady Ellenis Tresinfort and Lord Sebaste, while the 'Older Siblings' are independent.
Ranging on the ages fifteen to twenty-four, The Older Siblings has relieved some of the Island Heads' responsibilities and they will continue to do so due by the elders' quickening age. Lady Tresinfort has been the mother of the island since the second generation, the four children of Oxelia Everlark. They have long expected that these Younger Siblings would be the last to call her 'Mama' and so they would not force Euseff to do this respecting gesture.
"I heard from Mama this morning, his name's Euseff?" Esibella gawked up to Yules, asking the walking tower if he can tell something about their new brother.
"He's had the eyes of Masteus." Rosef interjected, not hearing Yules any word.
"Shut up, Rosef." Yules immediately caught between the lines and snapped at Rosef, still looking at horizon.
"Why? Did not Masteus had that deep forest eyes? Or perhaps it was...." Rosef teasingly hinted something to Yules.
"I said shut up." This time Yules turned his head.
"Ohohoho, look at this angry tower, Abrinne. I bet his neck hurts a lot looking down on all of us. Haha. Training been fun some time ago?" Rosef leaned his head on the table, portraying his well-rested arms and neck. He was referring to the punishment received by Yules where a rice pot filled with stones is placed above his head and two more at both his palms while extending his arms wide, then one of his soles should be resting at his other knee, he must maintain balance, or he will repeat it again and again.
'Fuck you,' Yules mouthed profanely.
Rosef was lost in laughter making the tower furious once again.
"Look at these barbarians, etiquette not existing here?" Esibella scolded the two.
"Now that I look at him, He does look like Masteus and Roylus. They even smell the same." Abrinne reflected about, perplexed.
Yules clenched his fists of hearing the names he hates the most while Aarabeth was enjoying in silence, her sparkling orbs was observing the new arrival since she shattered the glass earlier. She made that especially for him, she smelled his scent from the stairs.
Aarabeth heard days ago from Lord Appleton that a rare opportunity has been relayed by Owl Three, a missing sibling will arrive in few nights. It was a child of a former scholar of Lady Tresinfort who served Georgio Everlark when he was still the general of their Lord Grandfather. The former scholar is raised from Juritia Empire in humble beginnings, but suspiciously, she left without a word penniless when their child was just a year from birth. It has the rumor of her turning mad because of not being able to eat on time after giving birth at the midst of their expedition on the Deeper of Whispering Seas.
At first, Aarabeth was worried if the child turned out to be a girl, but to her surprise, it was not just a boy–it was a clueless boy. She caught a whiff that this Euseff had not even daunted on a proper education or the basic means of etiquette by how rudely he wears that clown costume. Thousand plans whirled at her sea of thoughts just by looking at his deep forest eyes.
"Well, I can see the show is going." Rosef sipped a wine from his cup, waiting at the moment they were all anticipating.
His siblings at the rightmost table saw Lord Sebaste taking strides, harsh and uncomposed. The whites of his elder hair are in waves matching the wrinkling of his eyebags. His fists in bloody clench and his teeth grinding at each other. His focus is to walk over the dozing boy who's pale by looking at his feet.
The other young children beside Euseff noticed Lord Sebaste as well. Jacksie covered his food like a rain of dirt will befall on them. Lynnally scurried to hide herself between the trio and Raynor made a small space between him and Euseff.
Lord Sebaste took a stick from their table, a thinned dried bamboo that he uses for punishments by hitting the calves of his subjects.
He was just about to cross on the other side of group of tables when he heard a word from the red-haired boy.
"Everyone stop!" Sesar halted the whole ballroom. His innocent orbs now turned worried, his eyes skimming and searching for something different.
Sesar stood from his seat and walked at the aisle, passing by the Island Heads who acknowledges him with respect. They have felt what the boy is insinuating about, in the air.
"I smell something very foul." Sesar said.
The entire ballroom had sudden coldness, whispers of crowd rising louder and louder then they were silenced. All eyes at the grand red door.
A shrieking scream erupted from outside. Vile, hoarse, and torturously painful.