Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 (13 page)

She yawned feeling her eyes getting
heavy. That night her dreams were plagued by images of Raden
Burhanuddin Ali.

Chapter
Eleven

The banquet hall was decorated with
flowers and coconut leave in the traditional way. There was the
stage and on the stage, were six seats. Arranged in a circular
position with a small marble table in the center. On the four
seats, the parents of the bride and groom to be, are sitting.
Sultan Abdul Kadir sitting on the largest of all six, to his left
is his queen Permaisuri Farida, on his right side, was Raden Hamza
and his wife.

The sounds of men and women chatting
filled the air in the palace banquet hall, their voices were happy
and cheerful. The women were dressed in formal gowns and
beautifully sewn Baju Kurung. Jewelry adorned their ears, neck
wrists, and fingers. And the men dressed in their best formal
wear.

Paramita stood in the corner alone
trying to stay out of sight, the peminangan ceremony is the
equivalent to an engagement party. She knew that this is all a
ceremonial procedure, because ever since the press release last
week, practically the whole country know that she was going to be
married to Ali. But it didn’t matter to her, because she thought
that she would get the chance to eat new foods that she never ate,
was interesting enough for her. That’s why she loved the parties
and gatherings in the palace. They mostly serve delicious
traditional cooking for the daily meals, but parties have a variety
of cakes and special cooking that she doesn’t see in her daily
meals. Apparently she was wrong. Since she’s the protagonist of the
party, she had to spend the whole day standing beside Ali, smiling
and thanking random people for their best wishes, people who
according him, are their extended family, she and Ali are actually
third cousins, after all.

She also was feeling uncomfortable
wearing the tight-fitting Kebaya, it was making it difficult for
her to breathe let alone move. She peeped down at the three stone
diamond engagement ring on her finger. “Well, at least there’s a
slight payoff.” She thought to herself.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her left
shoulder. “Here, try some of these.” It was Ali handing her a small
fork while holding up a plate of bit size traditional
sweets.

“Thank you, I thought I was going to
faint from hunger, or suffocation from this tight belt they tied
around my waist or both, I don’t really know.” She replied while
putting one in her mouth, she could taste the sweet, starchy
goodness.

“I bet it’s the first one, I saw how
you were staring at the refreshment table.” Ali smiled, “Try this,
this is one of my favorites, it’s made of sticky rice flour rolled
into small balls, but before that it’s filled with palm sugar,
poached, and served topped with grated coconuts.”

“Wow, I’m impressed, you know your way
around the kitchen.”

“When I was living in the states, I
liked to volunteer in cultural events, most events that took place
on weekends, have to do with gastronomical festivals, so I had to
be prepared to answer any cooking questions.”

“Ah, so you are a theoretical cooking
expert.” She said while pointing at him.

“Is that even a real word? But not
really, I love to cook also, I didn’t live in a dorm, you see. I
rented a small one bedroom, so I had to learn to cook for myself.”
He explained.

A lady came up to them while smiling,
“Oh, what a beautiful couple, you both look good together, such a
well-suited couple, the groom is handsome, distinguished,
intelligent and gallant, and the bride, so beautiful.”

“Thank you, Auntie Sri.” Replied Ali,
“Mita, this is Auntie Sri, she is the sister-in-law of my mother
Raden Nabilla.”

“How do you do, Auntie?” Paramita shook
her hand and smiled cordially.

“Well, it was nice to greet the two of
you, I’m going to find your mother, and I will talk to you later.”
She said then disappeared into the crowd.

“So why is it that you’re all;
handsome, distinguished, intelligent and gallant. While I’m only
beautiful? How is that a well-suited couple?” Paramita said
jokingly, once she was sure that the older lady was out of
sight.

“You're right.” Ali responded, “She
should have said, “The groom is handsome, and the bride is
beautiful, the groom is distinguished and the bride is beautiful,
the groom is intelligent and the bride is beautiful, and he’s such
a gallant and she’s so beautiful.” Like that, right?”

“You’re so full of yourself.” She
laughed.

“Let’s go and get something to drink,”
He said while leading her to a table filled with all types of fruit
juices and soft drinks. Seeing that she had trouble walking in her
tight long skirt and high heel sandals, he put his hand on her back
to help her balance herself.

She looked up at him and smiled, “Thank
you!” she said, understanding his good intentions.

“My big brother and my sister-in-law to
be, you both look very happy together.” A voice behind them said.
Paramita felt her heart thump at the sound of it. Both she and Ali
turned around almost at once.

“Hafiz, how are you?” She asked him,
“Long time no see.”

“I’m doing fine. I see that you are
too.” He answered.

“Yes, I am.”

Hafiz looked at his brother for a few
seconds, he said, “Excuse me. I’m going to greet some of our
relatives that I haven’t seen in a long time.”

After Hafiz had left, Ali asked her,
“So now that we’re officially engaged, you can tell me why you
punched Hafiz, back at the UK. And don’t think that this is talking
bad about him behind his back, but consider me as your fiancée and
I do have the right to know everything about you.”

Paramita looked at him for a few
minutes, she was hesitating, but decided to come out clean. “He
made my best friend pregnant.”

Ali was surprised to hear this,
“Wh…what? I….I, do I have a niece or nephew somewhere out
there?”

“No, no you don’t. My friend Laila, she
had an abortion, I was with her when she had the procedure. It was
horrible, for both the fetus and the mother.” Her voice softened,
she was trying not to cry.

“I don’t know what to say.” Answered
Ali, “That’s….I’m so sorry…….how could he….uhm why didn't he go
with her, to get the abortion, I mean, why did you have to go with
her?”

Paramita took a deep breath, “It’s a
long story, and I don’t think this is the right place or time to be
talking about it.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” Ali agreed.
“Here, drink this orange juice.” He brought the glass to his mouth
and drank it nervously.

“I thought that drink was supposed to
be for me! Your hands are shaking.” She said to him.

“I know, I’m a bit shocked by this.” He
was silent for a while. “Umm…., so the unrequited love that you
had, was for my brother?”

“Ummm….yeah, it was.” She
replied.

“Oh.” He hesitated, “Do you still have
feelings for him?”

“No, I don’t. Well, I won’t lie to you,
my heart did thump a little when heard his voice a few minutes ago,
but I don’t lose sleep over him, or miss him, or anything like
that.”

He took her hand, “I don’t know what
happened between my brother, your friend and you, I gather that
there is some history there and you don’t have to tell me if you
don’t want to, but on behalf of my brother I do apologize to you.
And I want you to know, no matter what happens between us because
of this marriage arrangement, you have a true friend in me, and you
can tell me anything, and count on me for anything.”

“Thank you, I’ll remember that.”
Looking into his eyes, he seemed sincere to her.

Suddenly there was a flash, followed by
the sound of people clapping hands and cheering. Paramita turned
looked up to see that a photographer had taken a picture of them
holding hands and the group of people around them were clapping
their hands while cheering at them. In the background, the elders
were looking their way and smiling.

“My goodness, I don’t want to even
imagine what they’re thinking.” She whispered, pulling her hand
away and feeling embarrassed.

Ali smiled and waved his hand to them.
“They probably think that you’re the luckiest woman on the face of
the earth.”

“You’re modesty never seizes to amaze
me.” She said while pinching his arm playfully. “Hey, by the way,
how did it go between you and Dewi, have you talked to her
again?”

“No.” He said with a sad tone, “I tried
to call her, but according to her manager, she’s been busy starting
her promotional activities for her new album.”

“Well, there’s a positive side to it.
At least she has something to keep her mind off the situation.” She
answered full of sympathy. “I’m sure you guys can work it
out.”

“Okay, it’s time to get back to our
duty and greet the rest of the family.” Ali changed the subject,
not wanting to stress himself at that moment over his love
life.

“Oh, do I have to?” She
sulked.

“Don’t be such a baby, put on a smile!
Come on, this way” He said while gently pushing her on the
back.

He led her to where their parents were
sitting, they were smiling happily with the guests as they were
congratulated on their children’s engagement.

Sultan Abdul Kadir smiled at them, “I’m
glad that the two of you are getting along well,” he said. “Ali, I
want you to start learning and understanding state matters. Next
week, report to the palace, so we can assign your tasks. I will
have my office contact Karya Bhumi to inform them, that you will be
reassigned.”

“I understand, Royal Uncle.” Ali
responded

“From now on you have to call me
father.” The Sultan said with a friendly smile.

“Yes, father.” He answered.

“Ananda Mita,” The Sultan said while
turning to his daughter.

“Yes, Ayahnda.” She replied.

“I hope that you comply with your
responsibilities, as the future wife of a government official, make
sure you behave yourself accordingly, and please, don’t embarrass
your future husband by not showing up to events and
functions.”

“I understand, Ayahnda.” Paramita’s
face turning red.

“Oh, and make sure your fiancée agrees
on what you’ll use the money that you asked me for your wedding
gift. It’s important that between husband and wife, both sides are
always transparent regarding money matters. This is important to
create a Sakinah family.”

Ali gazed at Paramita through the
corner of his eyes, then smiled knowingly.

“Your Father is right, Ananda Puteri. A
wife’s duty is to obey and honor her husband. A wife should always
be ready to sincerely sacrifice herself for her husband and
tolerate her husband. But also she must be wise, supporting and
loving, because whenever she sees her husband turning to the wrong
path, she should never be afraid to show him the right way.
Remember that you will be the mother of Raden Ali’s children, you
will be responsible for making sure that they become future leaders
for the country and for the religion.” Added Permaisuri Farida,
“There is nothing more valuable for a man than a Salihah wife, a
wife that is pious and faithful.”

Paramita smiled calmly and nodded,
“Yes, Ayahnda and Ibunda,”

“And also Ali, you also have to be
aware that Ananda Puteri is an Amanat to you, most importantly from
Allah, but also from me, her father. You have to be a wise and good
Imam towards your wife and future children. It’s your
responsibility to guide her through life, to take care of her, to
respect her, and to fulfill all your responsibilities as a
husband.”

“Yes, Father” Ali replied.

“Puteri, we are very happy to have you
as a daughter,” Raden Hamza said.

“Thank you, Father.”

“Excellent. The both of you are a match
made in heaven, I’m sure you will have a good future together.” The
Sultan said while laughing loudly.

An attendant came beside him and
whispered something to him his face dropped. “I have some business
to settle. Please make sure that the guests are taken care of.” He
signed for Raden Hamza to follow, and they both walked away without
saying anything else.

Permaisuri Farida looked at her husband
with a worried expression, but then she turned to Ali and Paramita.
“Raden, will your mother be attending to the wedding
ceremony?”

“Yes, she will. She will be arriving
next month.” He replied.

Raden Nabilla’s expression suddenly
turned sad, but she quickly composed herself and smiled. “I’m sure
she is very happy to hear about this. Your Majesty Permaisuri,
Raden Ali is her only child. Just like me, I’m sure she can’t wait
to have grandchildren.”

“That’s right.” Said the
Queen.

“Ibunda Permaisuri and Ibunda Nabilla,
please excuse us for a while, I am going to take Puteri to greet
some of our other relatives.”

“Please go ahead.” Replied the
queen.

Ali and Paramita walked into the crowd
of people, once he felt far enough from the stage he turned to her
and said, “So that was the half a million reasons that you didn’t
want to share with me?”