Chapter 8

She was fidgeting with the ends of her blouse, her fingers messing with a loose strand. 

"Is there a problem Shinja? If you do not want to do this, it is alright I can have a servant assist your sisters." 

"No papa. I am okay. Thank you," she hesitated as if on the verge to say something then she changed her mind and smiled at her shyly and ran into the direction that her sisters had taken. 

It was unanimously agreed upon that Shinja would provide water for them to wash their hands. Shimpi would play the violin as the other three sisters brought in the different meals to be laid out on the tables for the Silver family to eat.

The guests were shifted indoors so they could have lunch and proceed to other important activities. A huge oak table had been placed in the largest hall of the castle. The intricate carvings on the four walls of the hall could make a jaw drop. The guests could not stop whispering about the performance of the king's daughters. Others were running their eyes around the hall immersed in its beauty. 

Kingdoms all over the world were envious of the Green Kingdom. Most of them hated their guts. They were envious of the fact that it is from them that the Elixir of Life was to be gotten. Some came for the elixir and not necessarily because they loved Pink-White and his family. They sat each as they pleased with Pink-White at the head of the table. He proposed a toast to life and was joined by all the rest as they drank the Elixir of Life.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you all know why we are gathered here. As you all know the Elixir of Life has been a huge part of our lives. I mean that in every good way. All thanks goes to our healers, the Silver family." He said these words standing up with a glass in his hands. The glass contained a greenish liquid that steamed with grayish strands of smoke. He pointed the glass in the Silver prince's direction and continued.

"That said, I would like all of us to stand up, glasses in hand that we may make a toast to life." 

Each guest pushed back the heavy oak chairs and raised their glass in the air then Pink-White voiced, "To life?!"

"To life!" They all said in unison and downed their drinks in one gulp.

Having had their first meal, everyone was let to enjoy the elephantine nature of the Green castle. This was to be their place of residence for the next how many days that Pink-White had chosen for the banquet to take place. They were given a detour and shown each to their room. Some of the guests chose to stay around taking a detour of the palace as its beauty was outstanding. At night on the clouds on which it sat swayed a bit giving a lulling sensation that brought sleep and beautiful thoughts as one gained sleep.

The day's events had turned out well. The princesses reminisced and reflected on each one of the events, never forgetting to mention the curious case of the Silver family. They could not keep the family out of their mouths. It seemed as though the prince had not come with his parents, the princesses did not venture further into that. Their focus remained on the Silver prince. The previous night had been filled with imaginations of how he would look like and finally they had been fed beyond their wildest dreams. They had no idea what his name was but at least they knew that he was a prince not just any prince but THE Silver Prince. 

Unlike the princesses' unfocused thought process, the Silver prince as he lay in his room facing the ceiling, his mind track was on no one else but the shy princess. He had determined in his mind that he would get her name. He would find out who she was before they left this kingdom. He wanted to know her. She was not like any of her sisters. He could tell by how her brown eyes captured his and darted away almost immediately with her blushing toned skin as it glimmered in the sunshine from sweating while she danced. She was a shy little creature that made him curious.

Shinja's sisters made it their mission to hound him. They made all sorts of excuses to come to his room. If one of them took water for his feet, the other would come almost immediately with a towel for his face. The prince's servants laughed at the princesses' efforts. But the prince was agitated by all of them because every other sister came to his room but not the one he really wanted. He almost requested of the sisters that she be brought to him but how would that sound? He was a guest, making such demands would seem foolish and egoistic of him--considering his importance to the Green kingdom--keeping a low profile was high on his priority list. His sneaky mind would come up with something. He was assured of that.

Shinja stayed as far away as she could from the prince and his family. Her nerves could not let her do anything other than that. She overheard Shimpi and her sisters discuss the grumpy Silver prince that had not as little as flinched when they confessed to him that they had fallen in love with him at first sight. 

"He just stood there!" Shimi said shrugging her shoulders in utter annoyance. "He did not react or anything. He did not even say a word back. Instead he picked the towels from my hands as though he had not heard me, turned and shut the door in my face." She narrated her disappointment evident in her voice.

"No way, if he reacted like that to you, then that only means he will not like the ideas I have in mind." Shimpi voiced her plan.

Out of curiosity, Shinka asked, "And what would those plans be Shimpi?" She bit back the laughter that threatened to pour out of her mouth.