Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (34 page)

"With who? My family? They don't like
me, to them I'm an outsider."

"It's okay, you just have to get
through tonight and tomorrow. From then on, you don't have to step
into the palace if you don't want to."

"Promise?"

"I promise!"

"Okay then. I'm going to sleep, the
sooner this nightmare is over the better."

"Good night...."

"Good night."

She was just about to cover herself
with the blanket, when the door burst opened and Puteri Siti
Hamidah entered. "Have you prayed?" She asked.

"Yes I have Bunda." Paramita
responded.

"When the other three princesses got
married, they had two weeks of full beauty treatment, massages,
scrubs, facial mask. I wonder why Permaisuri didn't arrange those
for you."

"That's okay Bunda. I had my fair share
of beauty treatments most my teenage life living with my mother.
She wanted me to follow her footsteps in the modeling world." She
replied. "Now I'm finally free of those beauty regimes, I'm
actually very happy about it."

"Why didn't you go through with a
modeling career?"

"I think the Sultan called my mother
and prohibited it. Besides, modeling was not my thing." She
recalled.

"Hmmm, I understand certain careers are
not suitable for daughters of the Sultan. But look at you, you are
tall, white and beautiful, you would have made a good career for
yourself."

"Bunda, you compliment me too
much."

"I'm just saying what I see....."
Puteri Siti Hamidah replied.

There was a knock on the door, and
without waiting for an answer, the door was opened and Puteri
Siti's two daughters entered.

"Did you bring the herbal tea I asked
you to get?" Puteri Siti asked them.

"Yes we did Bunda," Puteri Hartini said
while pointing to a plastic bag she held in her hand.

"Adik this is a special herbal tea that
is passed down from generations to generations in our family. It's
good for married women, or who will be married like in your case.
This will make your husband very happy and pleased with you so he
doesn't turn to look at any other woman."

Paramita smiled politely.

"Eh..., Adik, especially because your
husband is Raden Ali, not only is he a very popular among women,
but there was gossip that he was dating a famous singer. You have
to be able to compete with her and conquer him." Puteri Karmini
said.

"Kak Mini, what did Kak Nurbaiti mean
by him taking a lover after a few months?" Paramita asked just to
assess the situation with her sisters.

"Don't worry about her," Puteri Karmini
said. "She's just jealous that's all."

"Jealous? With me? What on earth for?"
Paramita asked.

"That's because for several years we
thought that she would be engaged to Raden Ali, then suddenly she
was engaged to Pangeran Hasan who is now her husband, and they were
married just one and a half years ago."

"Wait a minute. So there were plans to
have my Raden Ali marry to Kak Nurbaiti several years ago and
suddenly she was engaged to another person and married off to
him?"

"Yes," Puteri Hartini added, "She had a
very short engagement probably, what? Half a year? Yeah, half a
year and then they held the wedding ceremony. Poor Adik Nurbaiti,
she must have been shocked. She never knew her husband before she
married him. She was always in love with Raden Ali. Not because
they were close to each other, they barely knew one another, but
because Bunda Permaisuri always taught her that way."

Paramita couldn't understand the
Queen's reason to doctrinize her daughter that way. She fished for
more information, "Well, that's still longer than my engagement to
Raden Ali."

"What are you talking about? Ayahnda
announced to us that he would marry you to Raden Ali at the same
time he announced Adik Nurbaiti's engagement to Prince
Hasan."

"Is that so?" She thought about it for
a while, then went back to the subject of her sister to not look as
if she was too interested, "Oh, well that's sad. Imagine being
taught to love somebody for some time then be married off to
another man. I can understand her coldness towards me." Paramita
said. But the information made her curious. "Do you know why,
Ayahnda Sultan is so keen to have Raden Ali as his son in law? And
why was Kak Nurbaiti suddenly married off to her current
husband?"

"Who knows? Maybe it's because of Uncle
Raden Hamza, who is father's favorite cousin. As for why Adik
Nurbaiti was suddenly married off, it was Ayanda's decision, I
think it was about the same time Kakanda Putra Mahkota was sent to
study overseas. I remember that Bunda Permaisuri was against this
decision. But, of course, if Ayahnda already made up his mind,
nobody can or should go against him."

"Come on, stop gossiping about your
sister Nurbaiti and continue to give marital advices to Mita."
Puteri Siti Hamidah scold them.

Although she tried trolling around some
more, Paramita couldn't get any new information she concluded that
her sisters and their mother really didn't know anything
else.

* * *

They left her to take her beauty sleep,
claiming that staying up too late will make her face puffy tomorrow
morning. She was happy to be able to talk to them. They were warm
and friendly to her. "Children, especially daughters take after
their mother." She thought to herself, "Kak Mini and Kak Tini are
warm, caring and open hearted just like Puteri Siti Hamidah, while
Kak Nurbaiti is distant and looks down at me just like Permaisuri.
And I am... Am I like my mother? Since I don't agree with her
behavior, then I have to be careful and make sure that I don't
become like that. I have to use her as an image of what not to
be."

She picked up the herbal tea that her
sisters gave her. How sad knowing that this herbal tea was created
by women just like her to gain the love of their husband's through
sexual pleasure. Husbands who can legally take more than one wife.
"If Abang ever does that to me, I'll just walk out the door with my
kids without looking back." She said to herself. Suddenly she
realized, maybe she was just like her mother, after all. She picked
up the plastic bag and buried it deep in her bag.

* * *

"Please, go easy on the makeup," Ali
said to the stylist in charge of dressing him in the traditional
garb. Seeing all the cosmetics that are stacked on the dressing
table. "I don't want to be mistaken for the bride."

"Raden that's not possible, the clothes
are different." The stylist answered with a smart ass
attitude.

"Are you ready?" Raden Hamza asked
while poking his head through the door.

"I think so," Ali replied while
standing up.

"Raden, at least let me apply lip
gloss." The stylist said.

"Not necessary!" He replied, "But thank
you for your effort." He said while standing up fixing his kain
samping and then his songkok.

Raden Hamza entered sitting on the bed
he handed his son a Keris, "This Keris belonged to my father.
Although it's not a functional weapon, but more of a ceremonial
accessory, it is our family heirloom. This is my gift for you, in
your new life and responsibilities you will be required to use our
traditional clothes often, I want you to always carry this Keris
with you to remember everything I've taught you from childhood to
now. Remember that title, position and power can corrupt a man. All
your life I have given you a good moral compass to help you find
your directions in life, always remember them and don't stray away.
I have always given you an example of loyalty to your mother
Nabilla, I have never disappointed her and never been unfaithful. I
hope you will follow my lead in your actions as a husband and as a
father to your future children. Your wife is a strong and
independent woman, and she is of higher birth than you, but it is
your responsibility to protect her, love her and care for her. I
wish all the happiness in the world, you have all my blessings for
this new phase in your life." He held his son's face and kissed his
forehead.

Ali slipped the Keris under the belt
that tied his kain samping. He kneeled in front of his father,
putting his head on Raden Hamza's knees, he whispered, "Thank you
father."

Raden Hamza nodded as he gently
caressed his son's head, his eyes were moist, "I'm proud of
you."

As per tradition, the groom and his
family will parade towards the bride's home where the wedding
ceremony will take place. The purpose of this parade is to announce
to everybody that the two children of both families have legally
become husband and wife. In addition, it's to ask for good wishes
and blessing from any and every onlookers. Since this was a wedding
ceremony held by two prominent families, the Sultan himself and a
very influential nobleman, the streets were crowded with people
trying to watch the procession and taking pictures of it. Rows of
reporters were also making live broadcast of the event so that the
citizens living outside of the capital can watch it live in the
comfort of their own homes.

Once they reached the Palace which, in
this case, is the home of the bride's family, they are greeted at
the gate and received by the bride's family. This is followed by an
exhibition of Silat fighting styles by the groom, this is a
symbolic gesture to show to the family of the bride, that the groom
as the head of the family has enough prowess and manhood to lead
and protect his family. Afterward, they continued to the courtyard
where both families play a symbolic battle of throwing raw curried
rice at each other as a sign of which family gives more blessing to
the other. Once the rice throwing had finished both families
exchange gifts of betel leaf, betel nuts, betel chalk, and tobacco.
At the door of the house an exchange of rhymes are done, once the
bride's family feel satisfied with the rhymes, they then drop the
makeshift barrier, made of silk, to allow the groom and his family
to enter the house.

The bride was taken out from inside the
house to meet with the groom, both of them were led to a seating
area where the parents from both the bride and groom were seated on
decorated chairs. Both the groom and the bride had to kneel in
front of each parent to get their blessing for their new life. The
Sultan was accompanied by both wives, Paramita felt it ironic that
her mother wasn't there.

Since the marriage contract was done a
week before, they continued directly to the Sanding, where the
bride and groom will sit side by side on a stage in front of all
the guests, this is a testament that they are officially
married.

A contingent of prayers, blessings, and
speeches followed afterward. Paramita felt warned out sitting for
hours in her kebaya, especially with the tight canvas long belt
they tied around her waist to make her waistline look smaller. Her
face also felt stiff from smiling all the time. She was feeling
envious at the guests who were walking around with a plate full of
food in their hand. She glanced at Ali, he was sitting calmly and
comfortably. "Why does society dictate for women to be vain?" She
thought, "I wonder how many other women present here today have to
suffer this type of torture just so people can see her as
beautiful."

She looked towards the guests sitting
on the seats arranged in rows in front of the stage. Her mother was
there on the VIP seat, she was sitting with several foreigners who
Paramita deduced that they are representatives of foreign countries
in Jothar. A pair of aged foreigners caught her attention. The man
was dressed in a black tie suit and the woman in a beautiful haute
couture gown. What caught Paramita's attention was her face, she
was a female version of Ali. She guessed that she must be his
biological mother. She also saw Jonathan Tan among the guests that
had just arrived, and walking beside him was Dewi Chandrawati. She
understood that as Raden Nabilla's brother, he would be invited to
his step nephews wedding, but she wondered at his motive for
bringing Dewi as his date. She sensed that he had a sinister reason
behind it. A group of reporters ran up to Dewi and started to take
photos of her. Instinctively, Paramita moved her body, but she felt
a hand holding hers, and gently squeezing it. She turned to Ali, he
gestured that he also saw what she saw, and he was calming her
down. She smiled at him and tried to relax. Once he saw her calm
again, he withdrew his and put it back on his lap.

One of the women assigned to attend the
guests brought a tray with two plates of food for them. Ali took a
plate and gestured for the woman to leave. Paramita wanted to
protest for her meal, but Ali brought a spoonful of food to her
mouth and smiled. She opened her mouth to accept it. Seeing the
groom feeding the bride with affection, the reporters shifted their
attention from Dewi and started taking pictures of them. Ali ate a
spoonful himself, before feeding his wife with the spoon again, he
continued with this until the plate of food was empty. He used the
napkin in his hand to gently wipe the corner of her mouth. She
smiled at him thankfully, for saving the situation, but inside she
was cursing him for causing her to eat only half a meal.