Chapter Fifteen
The rain had stopped, and the sky outside the cave glowed in a red and orange hue. The stiffness and aching of his body made Ali realize that he was not in his warm and comfortable bed. He felt something weighing down on his body, when he looked, he saw that Paramita was sleeping on top of him. He was about to shake her shoulder to wake her up. But seeing her peaceful and solemn expression, made him hesitate. Instead, he stroked her cheek gently.
“Mita, wake up. It’s dawn already.” He whispered softly.
She stirred a bit, she opened her eyes a bit. “Mak, just a few more minutes.”
“I’m not Mak Noor….” He said.
She opened her eyes widely now, staring at the ceiling of the cave above her, “Oh, that’s right, we’re in a cave in the middle of the Borneo jungle. Where did you get a cushion from?”
“It’s not a cushion, it’s me.”
She sat up almost instantly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
“Hey, calm down, no harm done.” He said, “Look, I’m going to check out the perimeter, I want you to wait here for me, just stay seated, don’t try to walk or even stand up, I don’t want you to put any pressure on that foot.”
“It’s a small sprain, it’ll get better by itself, don’t worry about me.”
“I’m not worried about you, first of all, your father is not going to like the fact that you went with me to an event and ended up at the bottom of a cliff, and second, I don’t want to marry a limping bride.”
“Very funny….”
* * *
Paramita was becoming bored. Ali had left for almost an hour and she didn’t have anything to occupy herself with. She regretted that she didn’t have her bag with her, she should have brought it along, and not leave it in the van when she was entering the restroom, otherwise she would have her pocket flashlight to allow her to visually explore the small cave properly or even use it to read the book that she’s currently reading.
Her stomach started to growl, she hadn’t eaten since lunchtime at the event’s buffet. At this moment, her mind is imagining all her favorite food that she hadn’t eaten since she had arrived at Jothar. She liked the traditional food that they serve in the palace, because it is a new experience for her as the same meal that the maids cooked at her mother’s house were usually missing a spice or two, so they did taste somewhat different. But at this moment, she would kill to have a portion of good old fish n’ chips.
A combination of hunger, boredom and solitude, was making her restless and cranky. “What happened to Bang Ali?” She said to herself, “He’s taking so long, did he ditch me here?”
She grabbed hold of a protruding rock above her head, and pulled herself up with her arms taking care to not put any weight on her injured leg. When she finally succeeded to stand up, she leaned her back against the wall to help her support herself. Slowly she walked out of the cave while tracing the wall. The sky was already bright, the sound of birds chirping in the surrounding trees made the scenery around her seem heavenly. She took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air.
She picked up a rustling sound from her right-hand side, she tried to see what it could be but, the thick bushes hid the cause from plain view. Paramita looked around to find anything that can help her defend herself. There was a long thick stick of wood on the ground a few meters in front of her, she hopped towards it, and picked it up. She quickly scanned her surrounding to find an object that she can lean against. She saw a big rock about two meters away across the bush that had rustled and moved, she quickly used the stick she found as a walking stick to help her reach the rock. She leaned against the rock and pinned her eyes on the bush, to be aware of any sudden movements.
The bushes moved more rapidly, Paramita moved her good leg backward and planted her feet firmly on the ground, concentrating her body weight on it, she lifted the stick, ready to defend herself.
Suddenly, the leaves parted and Ali came out. He had a surprised look on his face, seeing Paramita in front of him armed with a stick, ready to hit him.
“I left for not more than an hour, and you’re already going to beat me up?” He asked.
“If I knew it was you, I would have clubbed you immediately without a warning.”
“And risk losing your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?”
She looked at his right hand, “Where did you get those bananas?”
“There were some banana trees, over there by the river. I had to pull out the ripe bunches. By the way, didn’t I tell you to stay put?”
“You did. However, I chose to ignore it after waiting for so long.”
“You’re so stubborn, let me put these bananas away first then I’ll help you to sit down, we have to eat quickly.”
“Don’t worry, I found this stick, I can use it to help me walk.” She said while using the stick to help her walk over to him.
He didn’t say anything, but put his arm around her and helped her to the dry spot where he had left the bananas.
“The rain was so heavy last night that it caused a landslide over where you fell yesterday. I saw that there is a small trail to the east of here, I suspect it leads to the village since the village is also towards the east, but I can’t be sure.”
“Wait, didn’t you say that the Royal Guards were coming for us?”
“Yes, but if they don’t find their way here by late morning, we have to try to find our way back to the village ourselves. Unless, you want to spend another night here.”
“Hilarious…..”
Suddenly there was a man’s voice calling from above them, “Raden…..Raden…..Raden Ali.”
Ali looked at Paramita then answered back, “We’re here.”
“Raden, I’m Suparta the Village Chief, the captain of your guards, asked me to tell you that, the guards are on their way right now, they will probably take about two hours or so to reach you, because they have to go around this cliff. Last night’s rain caused mud to block the usual path and the main road leading to this area.”
“Mr. Suparta, I saw a small footpath close to the river that seems to head eastward, does that footpath lead to the village?”
“It does, Raden, but if you use that path, you’ll have to eventually cross the river to reach the village, and that’s not advisable because of the current.”
“Mr. Suparta, which way should we go, if we want to meet the guards halfway?”
“Raden, you have to walk towards the south, then when you reach the bottom of the cliff there, you’ll find a footpath, follow the path towards the left. Just follow that footpath, and it will take you to the main road, I think it would be a good idea to wait for your guards there, if you do not want to wait here. You shouldn’t go further because that side of the forest is dangerous, there are some illegal loggers that do their activities there. They can be violent at times. They’re likely to avoid people traveling in groups, but if they see only a man and a woman, they wouldn’t hesitate to harm you.”
“Okay, thank you Mr. Suparta. Do you know if the guards have contacted the palace, to inform them about us?”
“Yes they have, Raden. Last night. They said that His Majesty Sultan has ordered the commander of the Royal Guards to come here personally to head the rescue mission, His Excellency the Minister will also be coming here.”
“Rescue mission?” Paramita asked. “Do they really need to go to that extent?”
“You are the daughter of the Sultan.” Ali replied.
“Well, I guess that’s one reason.”
“Mr. Suparta, we are going to head to the main road, since Her Highness Puteri is injured, we will be proceeding slowly.”
“Yes Your Excellency.”
Ali turned to Mita, “Let’s eat first. We shouldn’t go on an empty stomach, it’ll be dangerous if I can’t tell the difference between the growl of a wild animal and your stomach.”
“You’re such a clown.” She smiled playfully.
After they finished eating, Ali helped
her to get up and walk to the direction given by Village Chief Suparta. The ground was soft and muddy because of the rain the previous night. This made Paramita’s make shift walking stick sink every time it hit the ground.
“Here, lean on me.” He said to her, “It’ll be faster than having to pull that stick out of the mud every time you take a step.”
“Amazing, for once you’re actually saying something that makes sense.” She replied while putting her arm around his shoulder.
Ali stopped, and tickled her waist, “What did you say?”
Paramita laughed and wriggled around, a leaf under her feet moved due to the pressure, and caused her to slip. Ali quickly threw his other arm around her to prevent her from falling. As she straightened her body, their lips accidentally touched. Paramita immediately bowed her head, feeling embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, it was an accident.” Whispered Ali.
“No problem.” Her heart was pounding so hard, she couldn’t hear anything else.
“Okay, let’s continue, otherwise we’ll never get out of here before dark.”
They continued walking together, Paramita felt restless, that they haven’t reached the bottom of the cliff yet. “Are you sure we’re going the right way? I mean in this dense forest, how do you know we’re actually going north or not?”” She asked him.
“Of course, look, here.” He showed her his watch. “Since we had an event in a remote location, I wore my watch that has a compass on it. See, I’m not as useless as you think.”
“Who would have known that you’re actually my type?” She said in a serious tone. “Too bad you’re taken, well your heart at least.”
“Taken?”
“Yeah, too bad you already have someone you love, otherwise you are my ideal type of guy.”
“Ideal? In what way?” He asked.
“Well, you’re very smart, mature, far-sighted, understanding, and I have to admit you are handsome. Too bad you’re the wrong kind of Arab though. But still you’re a very good catch. Dewi is a very lucky woman.”
“What wrong kind of Arab?”
“Yeah, you know, the kind in romance novels, a sheik or sovereign prince from an exotic desert country.”
“Ha...ha…ha….” He laughed. “Yeah, don’t you remember that I’m going to marry up the social ladder to get the title prince? So you think that I’ll make a good husband?”
“Oh yes, you will.”
He smiled, “You’re quite blunt. So how can you compliment a man without even blinking or feeling shy about it?”
“I’ve decided to not see you as a man.” She said frankly.
“Umm…., and what does that supposed to mean? If I’m not a man, am I an orangutan or something?”
“No, silly. I mean, you already have someone, so I need to see you in a platonic way, you know, kind of like a big brother.”
“Big brother in law?” He asked.
“No, no….I don’t see myself with Hafiz.”
“So who do you see yourself with?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t found my Mr. Right, yet.”
“Maybe you have, but you haven’t realized it.”
“I don’t think so. One of the criteria that Mr. Right should have, besides being my type, is that he should love me. So I still have to wait for him to appear.”
“How would you know that a man loves you? Does he have to come up to you and say it?”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with saying: “I love you” once in a while.”
“You know in most cases, actions speak louder than words, especially for a man. A man can say I love you to a handful of women. But sometimes he doesn’t really feel that deeply for her. I mean he could easily let go of her and forget her because he doesn’t feel the emotional need to be with her, have her by his side and make her only his. But when a man really loves a woman, no words can describe how she makes him feel.”
“Oh? And what feelings are those?”
“Well, good feelings. Like, wanting to protect her, to be by her side every day, to see her smile, to talk to her and listen to her jokes. There’s also some not so good feelings, worrying if she thinks about another man, not matter who that man may be. He’d also feel passion and desire for her and only her, more than he had before.”
“Yeah, well unless he is in love with a psychic that would be difficult for the woman to know what he feels for her.”
“If she wasn’t so stubborn, maybe she could tell by the way he behaves towards her and by the things he says to her. But then again, her stubborn nature is perhaps something he loves about her.”
“I wish I had someone who felt that way about me. But most men are just “dogs”. Like my father or your brother. You know they can be with many women at the same time. For them, women are just objects to satisfy their desires.”
“Are they really “dogs” or are they poor unfortunate people who haven’t met or maybe will never meet that one special person, who makes their world go around? Look there’s the cliff!”
“Oh, finally. But you know. You might be right, I’ve never thought of it that way. It definitely takes a man to know a man.”
“Over there, it looks like a foot path, come on.” They walked along the foot path, it appeared like it wasn’t used so often. The trees have grown tightly around it. “Be careful, this area seems to be much denser than the other part. Here come close to me!”
“Is that even possible? I already have my arms around you and we’re pressed together like this.” She responded.
Ali smiled, “I can think of one other way that we can get physically closer.”
“How?” She asked not really paying attention to what he said.
“I’ll show you soon. But not today.” He said while giving her a cryptic smile.
“Whatever you say.”
“I wish I had a machete to cut these branches and leaves.”
“We’ll have to make do with what we have.”
“Yep, you’re right. Look out, there’s a protruding branch in front of you.” He said while pushing her head towards him.
“Thanks, I almost lost an eye back there.”
“Don’t say such things. Knock on wood.” He said while knocking on her head.
“Ouch.” She said.
They carefully walked down the foot path, clearing away the branches with their arms.
“Are you sure that your ankle is all right?”
“Yeah, it’s nothing that I can’t bear, in fact, I think it’s hurting less than before. Like I said, it’s an old injury. I easily sprain this ankle, but it usually gets better by itself after some time.”
“I guess I have to take your word for now. At least until we can have it checked out by a physician. But I still want you to avoid putting pressure on it, as much as you can.”
“Okay.” She paused, “Do you hear that?” She threw her hand against his chest to stop him.
“It sounds like people talking.”
“Do you think it’s them?”
“Let’s not take any risk, it could be the illegal loggers the Village Chief was talking about. We need to find some place to hide.”
“Abang, over there, look, the trunk of that tree is twisted down towards the ground. We can duck behind it and still observe this path.”
“Let’s go. Take it easy, don’t strain that ankle of yours.”
He helped her to get behind the trunk, then went to her side. “Do you see that? The leaves are moving in different directions, it looks like it’s a big group of people.” He held her hand tightly.
The sound of people talking became closer and closer. “Abang. “Paramita whispered in his ear, “I only hear men’s voice, it doesn’t seem to be any women and children in that party.”
“You’re right, keep your head down.”
Chapter Sixteen
The group passed by in front of them, they were not the Royal Guards. Ali observed ten rugged looking men, they were armed. Three had rifles, while the oth
ers had sticks and machetes swinging them around to clear their path from the leaves that grew surrounding it. Ali held Paramita’s head down, making sure they don’t spot her. The men passed by without realizing they were there.
“Let’s wait a few minutes just in case.” He whispered to her.
She nodded without saying anything, holding on firmly to his hand.
Ali let thirty minutes go by before he felt that it was safe for them to go out and continue their route.
“Let’s go, careful.” He said as he helped her climb over the tree trunk. “Hold on to the trunk so you don’t have to put your body weight on your injury.” He told her, before jumping over the trunk.
“This way.” He said once she had her arm around his neck. “Let’s try to move as fast as we can. We need to make sure we put a good distance between us and those men.”
He quickly but carefully led Paramita back to the footpath and helped her to it. Thanks to the group of men before, the way was clearer now, as they used their machetes to cut down the leaves that obstructed to way.
“Abang, over there, look, I can see the road. Can you see it?” She asked him with excitement.
“Yes, I see it, come on.” He answered.
They rushed as quickly as they can. The road was empty.
“Let’s not wait in plain sight, we better find a hidden place to stay until the Royal Guards get here.” He looked left and right. “Mita, I don’t see any good hiding place, let’s head to the bushes over there.”
Paramita looked in the direction he pointed. “Okay. Let’s go.” She replied.
They were about to walk into the bushes, when they heard a familiar voice, “Your Excellency, Your Highness.”
They turned around, it was the team leader, waving both his hands in the air from across the main road. Ali waved back at him.
“Captain Bagas. It’s good to see you.” He shouted.
The guards rushed over to them. “I’m sorry we couldn’t come for you last night. The rain was so heavy, it wasn’t safe for us to head out.”
“We understand,” Paramita replied kindly. “Is there just the five of you? Mr. Suparta the Village Chief told us that the Commander of the Royal Guard is coming out here.”
Princess: Nuance Of Love Book 1 Page 13