Chapter 4 #3
Servants stood at attention by the doors and near the tables, and they bowed when we entered.
But Keanu paid them no attention. He turned me around, pulled me close to him, and said, “Listen. There are many here who dislike that you are from a lower class. I need you to just follow my lead tonight, understand?”
I melted under his gaze. It was so sincere, yet so intense.
How could a man make a girl want to swoon and hide at the same time?
Was it because I saw this man when he was dead, or because I was anxious about everything that was going on?
He smelled of fresh sandalwood and tropical cedar, a mixture that was both inviting and intoxicating.
“It’s not like I have anything to say anyway,” I replied, realizing my voice was shaking.
His eyebrows furrowed a little. “I do not wish to make more enemies than I already have,” he said. “Especially for your sake, wife of mine.”
Wife of mine? I blinked, and he grinned. It seemed he enjoyed baffling me, and it was easy to do. I was tongue-tied around him and his confident presence.
“You’re very bright,” he said, “But you are also new to all of this, and I don’t wish for you to say something wrong.
Not until you get a feel for this society, and, with the amount of women who have wanted to wed me, I don’t want you to become a target.
I intend to protect you in any way I can. Do you understand?”
The sound of footsteps and voices came from the hall and his eyes flicked up, as if knowing everyone would soon join us in the ballroom. His grip on my waist tightened and he drew me closer to him.
“Do you trust me, moon of my tide?”
Moon of my tide? He already had a poetic nickname for me? It was rather romantic, if I allowed myself to think that way.
I swallowed hard. Keanu, this young, dashing chief, was asking me to trust him so that he didn’t make more enemies.
So the women who desired him wouldn't pursue me. My shoulders felt tight at that thought. How many women, exactly, wished to become his wife? Just looking at him, I hoped I wouldn’t find out. It would make me feel even more insecure.
So he intends to protect me… But, why? I was going to die in a month if I didn’t break his curse.
Perhaps I don’t know what I’m getting into, I told myself.
I nodded. “Yes, Keanu, for now.”
He smiled, and my heart did the same ridiculous pattering thing it did earlier when he kissed me. It didn’t help that he smiled and said, “Thank you, my dearest Oliana.”
My dearest Oliana? This man had to be the biggest flirt I’d ever met!
People began entering the room as music echoed throughout. Keanu led me to the table at the head of the room, and, before I knew it, the night flew by like fine sand in the trade winds.
Every guest congratulated us, some of them with smiles on their faces, and others with hidden looks of disgust. An owl flew into the room and sat on one of the window sills, overlooking the festivities.
I couldn’t help looking at it often, a welcome distraction from the overwhelming company around me.
My mother cried as she met Keanu, and Kiki looked completely unearthed. Alohi stood close by, and Keanu’s cousin, Malakai, watched over him like a hawk. At one point, our eyes met and Malakai raised an eyebrow, as if displeased, yet curious, with Keanu’s choice of a wife.
Peter stood in the shadows, his arms folded as he looked from me to Keanu.
After a while, I grew tired. There were so many people, my face hurt from faking a smile, and the corset made it impossible to breathe. Keanu led me in a dance, one that was simple enough for me to follow his lead, and then, much to my relief, he bid the party good night and led me away.
I said goodbye to my mother and Kiki.
Peter, who had gotten to know Kiki on the voyage, made all the arrangements for my family while we prepared for the wedding.
Since Kiki was interested in sewing and quilting, she would be the royal quilter.
She and mother would live in the guest home, though it was not for guests and would permanently belong to Kiki, mother, and my family.
This thrilled me: my goal had been accomplished.
Kiki had secure, high-paying work, and mother had access to doctors and all the help she needed, or so she told me.
Mother’s excitement about the work she and Kiki had been offered, as well as their beautiful new home, prevented her from noticing my nerves on display.
“It’s a gorgeous home,” mother had said earlier. Complete with pillars, two floors, and a grand yard, it was the perfect place for Kiki–and her future family–to grow.
After parting with my family, Keanu took my hand in his and bid the rest of the wedding party a good night.
It was then that my fatigue faded away, and my anxiety grew.
I forgot that with marriage came marital duties, and, with Keanu’s unpredictable and unreadable disposition, I did not know what would happen between us that night.
The man’s spirit was so fierce, it could make the strongest storm tremble in his presence.
But if only I had been more prepared for the way Keanu would treat me, because the way he made me feel was something I should have never allowed to happen…