Chapter 4

Screams, cheers ,whistles and more mad energy engulfs the festival grounds . It's time for the rituals. It's the moment of truth. Everyone is coming out of here with a wife or a husband . Your one.

Only question is whom? Sure thing is that everyone was made for someone. Especially when you are twenty one in the night of the festival of the millentians. The creator hand picks your true one for you.

So why not start the rituals and find out whom you are destined to be with. Exciting? If not for you, then for these folks in this festival it is very exciting . They will get to tell about the incredible love from their one.

This is the most fun activity of the evening . Most anticipated . Most magical . Time to experience what has only been described in stories since one was a kid. Time to find love and let it take you wherever.

The men drum, whistle and dance around for a while. The women say enchantations. The women are so still. The deal here is to channel their inner energy which they were told is what the creator uses to reveal their better halves. Their minds are clear of anything else. Their bodies are just empty shells slightly moving from the will of their minds connected in perfect harmony, chanting.

It's like they are actually not there. But their voices are too loud to support that idea.

The men are crazy with their activities. Almost as if competing with the women. But for them, they have to shake very vigorously. Use a lot of their energy to get out all of their fears, worries and uncertainty. You could say they are mad.

They sweat. Dance. Sweat more. More vigorous dancing. They might just lose their minds but they don't care. Are you wondering if Sao is enthusiastically participating in this, 'Let's see who loses their mind first ' competition ?He is.

It was always said that the festival at this point just kind of engulfs you. These millentians are special and for a land full of magic, it could be true that somethings they are just compelled to do and they don't understand why. Not that they ask .

Sao feels like screaming his head off. He has lived in fear of his true identity getting known by people. He has always been afraid of whom he actually is. Never wanted to embrace it after what happened when he was just a little boy. He was always scared of his life. He's only had that his kind are slaves to the kingdom but never seen any. So he assumes he is alone.

Sao is afraid to fail locating the heart of magic which is the ultimate source of power . He is afraid to not ever rise up and rebuild his kingdom. He fears the spirits of his parents. Especially his father. He fears to go to their final resting place. Not that he knows where that is. But he could if he asked around or something .

He screams harder thinking about how hard his life has been for years. In comparison to what it should have been if humans weren't so greedy. Or if he had kept secure the heart of magic. Never set eyes on it though.

It was always heavily protected. But what was the point when humans took it anyway leaving a blood bath behind.

His father had mentioned to him once or twice that he had a powerful council of sorcerers tie the stone to his blood line. This blood line had included the king himself and his twelve sons. Now it's only him. So only he could actually find it.

But there is a catch see, the council of sorcerers thought Sao's father king Mwamba was selfish for wanting the heart of magic to be tied to his blood line so they put a curse along with the binding spell.

King Mwamba's descendants can find the stone when everyone else can't see it but they can only use it if they kill the older member of the descend. There can never be two masters for the stone. An older master needs be dead and a ritual performed for the next master to use it otherwise they both die. That's not all.

Apparently, the stone with all magic in the land gets drawn to Sao's blood in as much as he himself is drawn to it. It's one of the reasons why it was kept in a different palace from the one the royals lived in.

When humans took it, they interfered with the magic the sorcerers drew from it to tie it to king Mwamba's lineage. Plus it is rumored that after the fall of the dragon kingdom like a hundred years ago, the sorcerers tried to reverse their binding spell.

Humans however killed and enslaved some before they could manage it. The heart of magic disappear in what people have been describing as a cloud of smoke or some say a gust of wind. However it disappeared, no one has set eyes on it for years. Most people don't even know what it looks like.

They assume it's just another stone in the normal shape of stones. There are no paintings of it because they valued the stone too much to keep in the public's eye . It's precious location was a secret. Anyways, humans didn't bother much about it because magic still flowed in their land . The dragon kingdom was long destroyed and some of its subjects enslaved so that means no danger .

It is why there is Sao on one hand and Winter on another. For some reason, they both didn't mostly live like other people. If it is not law so why trouble themselves! They both are interested in the stone of source of magic. Each with their own reasons. But back to the festival of the millentians.

'Festo Mille! ' The boys scream on top of their voices.

The girls are not left behind with their enchantment.

It's like everyone is posessed with spirits of their dead ancestors that all want to be seen and heard. If the energy before was mad then now it is madness. The men then pour drinks into random goblets along with some powder most of them have no idea what it is and a tiny drop of their blood.

To know it's working, they were told prior that the goblet will be filled with bubbles . It is these bubbles that tickle your one when she drinks from it and makes the wrong one sneeze so bad when they try to drink it.

As Sao reaches the ritual table with the goblets, he has second thoughts . These humans are not his kind. There is no way one of them is made for him. He regrets settling in this kingdom. The other four kingdoms he's lived in there was never such traditions .

He remembers he is not exactly twenty one according to how humans count ages. But he can't tell anyone about it. His kind counted ages different and technically he is actually twenty one. But what if him participating in this ritual reveals his true identity?

Or maybe it's the stress he is under that will make him turn and expose himself. He does the ritual anyway. To his surprise, there are bubbles in the goblet. He is not sure what to feel about it though.

Winter in her position can't help but be nervous about the next step .Soon all the boys will finish their part and it will be the girls turn to complete their ritual. She is not ready to have a husband. Then the thing about drinking a man's blood of course with magic involved, a woman is completely obedient to the man for a while.

Endless love starting to feel like a lie? Don't worry, it's just for a while and then from there it wears off completely. Winter has never imagined being controlled by anyone else. She was in many fights with her brothers and other boys as a kid for this same reason.

Her emotions come up to the surface with a lot of energy and she is ready to burst but fortunately for her , the staying still period is over. Now it's time to find out whom they were born for. Depending on where you are standing ,this is both annoying and exciting. Take your pick.

Girls who are too eager get up quickly and rush to the table with goblets . Each boy stares only in the direction of their goblet. Waiting to see whom is their one.

One particular girl catches Winter's eye , she runs fastest to the table and drinks from a goblet like her life depends on it. Strange thing is that it's like she knew the exact drink to go for. Others take some time before finding their drinks which are supposed to draw them in. Then in the general area one is supposed to sniff the goblets first. You sneeze, you put it back down . It tickles you, you drink from it. But the girl just grabbed it and took it.

Sao stands straighter and alert. What he didn't expect was any girl drinking from his goblet and ah, look at that . Coincidentally, he locks eyes with Winter. But they just exchange displeasure so sorry if you thought they were meant for each other.

Winter finally goes to the table to find her one as Sao's unites with his. She is drawn in a particular direction she assumes is the right direction. She wafts the closest drink to her and it tickles her. She is glad it is not a sneezing bomb. She drinks it and realize just how awful it tastes.

Before the after taste is even gone , some guy holds her in a very tight embrace. She just stays still waiting for him to let go. He hasn't even shown his face to her. Winter would right now advice you against getting excited to get married to a total stranger.

The guy finally shows her his face. She is thankful he is good looking at least. But is too tall for her preference. And he looks too happy for her liking.

"My name is Pento. Tell me your name? " He asks softly looking at her like she is a worn prize.

'My name is Winter. ' Suddenly comes to mind and on the tip of her tongue. She feels like she shouldn't be staring at Pento directly in the eye. And she should stand straight.

She feels as though her body is taken over by someone else and can't quite describe the feeling but she knows she has somehow lost herself. So she does everything she is compelled to do. And Pento likes that she does. He thought it strange at first but decided to just enjoy it while it lasted.

He too tells her about his life and his expectations for their future together. All those words sound so foreign to her. And him calling her wife is making her itch and not in a good way. Sadly she knows, if Pento says to kiss him she will pounce on him to do just that. So she hopes he doesn't . More than ever she hates this festival.

Looks around her and everyone else seems to be enjoying themselves and having a time of their lives. Imagine her surprise when she spots Kilza twirling some girl around both of them very happy. She twitches her mouth not believing the guy.

She spots another guy she recognizes as the guy who sang and wowed the crowd. He looks happy with some girl she thinks she has seen around some time.

'Why is everyone happy when I'm not? ' She wonders to self.

"Did you hear me sugar ?" Pento asks suddenly.

'Oh, call me sugar one more time! ' She thinks but asks,

"Sorry, what? "

"I've been saying that my mother has always wanted me to have more kids than her. I can finally make her wishes come true. " Pento says with a sweet smile an image of his happy mother in mind.

Winter wants to ask the exact number they are talking about but first lets the guy have his moment. Deep down she hopes the number is one or two. It would make sense then that she would specifically want him to outlive her.

"Aren't you going to ask what the number is ?"

"You would tell me if you pleased. " Winter replies and bites her tongue at how polite she is acting.

'This is humiliating! ' She thinks .

"Ten ." Pento says happily .

Winter chokes on air. She should have expected that because there is literally no one with less than five kids so her thoughts were absurd . But still, couldn't the number have been the five at least. She wants to shake her head repeatedly and scream no but can't do that.

She thinks maybe she will have one child then have her womb cut out. Sorry not sorry to the plus nine eagerly waited upon by their grandma.

'If she wanted so many she should have had a hundred and they would all be hers! ' She thinks .

Pento notices how Winter seems to be lost in her own thoughts every now and then. He doesn't think much about it though. Assumes she is a shy person. He pulls her to the dancing area where other couples are dancing with each other. He is too excited to notice how stiff Winter is as they dance or maybe still dismisses it as she is being shy. He thinks it is cute that she is .

'She is pretty and she is mine. ' He keeps telling himself as he studies her face.

'Why won't he stop staring? ' Winter wonders.

'I'm not complaining about this one. ' Pento thinks.

'When can I get away from this guy? ' Winter thinks .

Pento smiles broadly at Winter before twirling her around.

'I hope she is thinking about me too. About our wedding night... ' Pento thinks smiling to himself.

'Can I please just drop dead! ' Winter thinks.

Someone bumps into Winter making her stumble forward and Pento of course catches her and steadies her. Winter wants to strangle whoever made her be this close to Pento whose eyes keep darting between her lips and her eyes.

'Girl, save yourself and save yourself now! ' Her mind screams at her .

"Ow. Ouch, my ankle. " She cries.

Pento is alarmed. He didn't think she was that hurt and feels guilty for not asking.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt so much? " Pento asks lifting her bridal style.

Winter rolls her eyes when he is not looking and just her luck Sao catches her red-handed a distance from them. She rolls her eyes at him now.

Pento carries her away. Then sets her down in a quieter and lesser crowded area. He stares at her feet just now noticing her white ribbons. He approaves with a nod of his head .

"I'll go get some oil and massage your feet for you. Won't be long. " Pento says the words Winter didn't think she would hear but glad are said.

If she only knew that plan of hers would kill two birds with one stone she would have hatched it a while back. But no matter, as she watches his back move further and further from her she smirks.

"Pento sugar, you will look for me! " She says with a tiny evil laugh .

With that she flees to freedom in the opposite direction of where he went.

Sao watches Winter with interest. He smirks to self. Glad he is not the only one not happy about this arrangement here. He thinks maybe they should introduce their future spouses and hopefully they will hit it off and prefer each other so the two of them are free.

"Hey Lea, I feel hungry already. I'll go quickly grab something to eat, do you want some? " Sao asks his one Lea.

"Thank you, but I'm okay. " Lea answers quickly feeling lucky to have such a caring man.

'Luck smiled upon me. He is so handsome. ' Lea says watching Sao run off to the table of food .

But there being too many people, she loses sight of him. Any normal person at this party wouldn't think they just got ghosted. She is actually wearing a smile searching with her eyes the return of her one. Someone should tell the girl smiling hurts too!

Sao has a mission and in his mind plays a fantasy sequence of how it will all go down. He hopes to be free in the end. He has to be free. Housing for his wife is not the only issue bugging him. So whatever happens he must rid himself of this whole wife and marriage thing.

He uses his strong dragon sense of smell to pinpoint Winter's location . By now he easily remembers her smell . So it is quite easy for him to find her . He just shakes his head when he spots her tiny frame in yellow patterned dress and white ribbons on her ankles disappear behind the huge tree from before.

"Why of course she'd go back there! " He mutters under his breath.

Then he jogs until a few steps away where he slows down so he surprises her. A malicious smile on his face. Imagine a mad person who hides in the shadows and jumps out to scare unsuspecting victims . That's our Sao right there. And he feels good about it .

"Well, well, how cute of you thinking you can just hide from your husband forever. Behind a tree! "

Winter's heart races. For a second she thinks it's Pento but then realizes it's not and is in fact a someone she rather never met. This makes her so angry.

"What do you want? " She asks in irritation .

Sao chuckles mockingly.

"To take you back to husband dearest. "

'It's sugar! ' Winter thinks then chuckles softly herself.

"Happy now, aren't we? "

That makes the laughter dry quicker than light could travel. She thinks of how much she already hates the guy.

"You are here with me now... " Winter trails off acting like she is thinking hard, " Isn't wife dearest eagerly waiting for you? I mean, " She chuckles dryly throwing her hands around as if motioning towards a crowd, "Everyone is excited for wedding night . You would know that because you acted like a stray dog with me before. "

Sao bites hard on his teeth. The ball is not very fun when in his court. But a smirk covers his face. Can't let the girl think she's won. The girl gives him a challenging look. He narrows his eyes at her. She doesn't blink or look away. Let the man know whom he's messing with now!

"I can handle a wife, can you handle a husband, eh lady of steel? " Sao's challenging voice on full blast.

'I am going to regret this. ' Sao thinks .

Yeah he is ,because this is completely not the plan .Problem with having fantasy sequences is ,you overlooking the other party 's point of view. Something like this happens. And regrets follow. I repeat regrets follow.

'Oh he really just had to go there! Don't say yes girly! Don't say yes! Don't say it! '

"Challenge accepted. " Winter says confidently stretching out her hand for Sao to shake.

So it wasn't a yes! But it is just as bad! Don't blame her though, the smug look on his face made her make the wrong decision.

'I shouldn't have fallen for his trap! '

'Did she seriously have to fall for that! '

Two young adults with mutual intolerance for one another people! They have a little stare down as if waiting to see who chickens out first. But the thing is that these two are more similar than they realize. To think they barely met until at this festival...

They start walking at the same time as if somehow they are telepathically connected and are agreeing for once to do things. Before you say perfect harmony, these two are walking at humanly impossible pace back to the festival. At first no one was moving a muscle and now no one is stopping for a thing in the world.

Their little walking race only comes to an end when they reach crowded area. So they part ways to each look for their one. They both point their fore and mid fingers to their own eyes then to each other. And the search for their better halves begin.

Sao doesn't have to look so far because the first person he bumps into is Lea. He should be relieved but instead is just shocked. The girl clings to him in a tight embrace.

"Thank the creator I found you ,I was getting worried ." Lea says voice muffled because her face is buried in his chest.

He sighs and places his hands lightly on her shoulder.

" I'm here now. Give me some space please ." Sao says in a neutral voice.

If he is going to win this, he will have to be more patient even when there is a storm brewing inside him . And the way Lea springs away from him like he burnt her leaves him confused. Takes him a second to remember how obedient she was before. He tries to show some affection by running the back of his fingers down the side of her face and neck lightly.

Lea closes her eyes leaning into the touch. Sao looks at her closed eyes face. Really looks at her.

'Might as well have some fun for the night .' He thinks .

She opens her eyes and stares up into Sao's due to their height difference. They smile at each other. They get closer .And closer. Lea feels shy now imagining everything that could happen between them. You would too if you remembered you have only met the person not long ago and you will be living with them for a long time ,so things won't be forgotten.

Sao feels good seeing Lea acting as if she is cornered . He feels his ego inflating. He leans in and instead of her mouth plants a tiny kiss on her cheek close to her ear then whispers.

"I'm thinking about some naughty things too. "

Lea giggles, feeling tingles through her already excited body at the man's proximity and words. She however doesn't care much what happens when. She in fact anticipates it. Crosses her legs for good measure. Oh how Sao's ego inflates further.

But hold that thought for a second will ya ?

"Hey, meet my one Pento . Isn't he just the man! " Winter says in an exaggerated high pitched voice looking at Pento dreamily.

Now release the thought and while at it watch Sao's ego balloon getting pricked by Winter. He bites hard on his teeth internally cursing himself for forgetting his little game with the girl . But he wears a bright smile as he sweeps Lea off her feet and deeps her.

"Well, this is Lea. I saw her drinking from my goblet and I instantly fell. I have never met such an angel." Sao says acting love struck .

Lea blinks away her tears of joy. Winter rolls her eyes at that. Pento is just confused standing there next to Winter.

"We are neighbors from back home. " Winter tries to clear the air for Pento.

"Oh, okay. That's cool. I don't have any neighbour from home here. I'm so jealous. " Pento says .

"You know what this means? " Lea says looking at the three waiting for them to try and guess but they are just staring at her, "It means we can all four of us hang out together as a double date. "

Silence for some moments.

"Good idea. " Sao and Winter say together .

Then everyone looks at Pento who is disoriented for a moment from having the spot light on him. He nods in agreement then remembers something.

"I know just the place to hang out. Follow me ." Pento says excitedly and last part while looking at Winter.

She obediently follows her one as they pass masses of human bodies doing all sorts of things. They seem to be moving in the opposite of everyone else no matter where they are facing.

Turns out there is a grass thatched hut there in the back that is hidden by people's bodies . Three out of four are surprised they never saw it all that time they have been here. People seem to not be interested in it much.

The hut is pretty old that one could actually say it's bent over because the front is hanging so low takes a lot of bending to get in. A lot more for the boys especially Pento.

The walls are made of old wood but somehow look like they can withstand a storm. But of course they will have to withstand direct impact of subsequent storms because the roof goes with the first.

"Should we knock ?" Lea asks not understanding why they have to stand there awkwardly.

Sao knocks not waiting for Pento's reply. A little push is all the door needed to let guests in. Sao from his crouched position looks back at the other three and shrugs before duck walking in.

The rest follow wordlessly . The Hut is not so small as they must have assumed from outside. And it is brightly lit. Quite full too. Then there is this obviously older than twenty one guy with funny unusual hair style sitting at the center of it facing the door.

"Hello ,youngsters. Welcome to my tattoo shop. Anything you desire, I'll draw it on you. Dreams come true here. Let me in your mind and together we'll find the perfect image you want. Are the ladies going first? " The man speaks licking his teeth occasionally.

All four wonder what is stuck between his teeth and also what exactly is the statement he is making with his clothes. His clothes are baggy and tight in different places. Many colours and fabric that some they've never seen. Most importantly, his whole look seems to scream, 'Don't take me seriously, I don't do it either! '

"Anyone say something. Or do you want to look around first? " The man asks .

"Yeah we'll look around first. " Sao speaks looking at the others for affirmation.

They nod and each couple goes to different corners of the room looking at posters all over the walls. There are so many tattoos displayed.

"Ain't people above twenty one prohibited from this place? " Winter asks Pento lowly.

"Yeah, but it is said that this Hut and that guy are always here for the festival of the millentians. " Turns to look at the man then Winter, " I've heard that he never found his one during his time. So he begged the creator to keep him here so he can at least do what he considers his second love because out there he would be humiliated by others. Been here ever since. Never leaves. "

Winter's eyes threaten to fall off their sockets.

"How is that even possible? I have so many questions... What does he eat? Doesn't he feel so lonely here ?And this hut? "

"Shh. Keep it down. I don't know anything. Just heard a small part of it. "

"We found something. " Sao says suddenly .