Bloody Death

July 19th

Ball Night. What a night. All were laughing, dancing, smiling, and the Royal family themselves were the hosts of it all. The Prince's and Kings were the ones getting heavy with the food from the trays that the royal family had displayed for them as the young Princesses and Queens, they laughed, fluttered their eyes at the future King of Neverland and boasted on whose daughter would be the Queen. But this was not a ball of choosing a bride, this was a ball of celebration, no doubt. But it was the celebration of marriage. The only thing that was missing at this particular moment was the Prince's fiancé whom had stayed behind to chat with the Princess Lisa Presley of Norway.

Jermaine: Father, I must excuse myself. The crowd is too much for me and I need to take a walk in the garden.

King: Crowded? The Joker has had not the chance for pleasure! Stay and enjoy this night.

Jermaine: Father, I cannot stay.

King: Alright.. Then go.

Jermaine: Thank you, father.

He bowed, then left. He made his way to the front of the palace and stepped inside of the carriage. There awaited Alice in the carriage and off they went.

Alice: So, where is it that we shall stay?

Jermaine: I have not a clue, but we must not stay here.

Alice: And if we are caught?

Jermaine: Hush, now my love. Do not speak of such darkness. We shall live in peace.

Alice: Alright.. I shall not put such words into the world.

He brought her closer to him and kissed her.

Jermaine: I must assure you. Everything shall go as planned and we shall finally be happy together.

Alice: Happy indeed..

She smiled up at him and their carriage kept their faces hidden from the people so that no one would interfere with their escape plan. Meanwhile, Princess Dameta was captured by Prince Haikiem in a dance.

Janet: I must ask.. Where have you learned to dance such an impossible dance as this?

Haikiem: Impossible?

He grinned with a light chuckle.

Janet: You laugh at me?

Haikiem: No. I believe that if the dance were to be impossible, we would dare not attempt such a dance as this. But here we are and every step we take is perfection and beautiful.. Just as you.

She looked away from his eyes as they continued to dance. No one had ever complimented her such as he.

Janet: You are a kind man.. Why?

Haikiem: You accept my kindness and you seem worthy of it. Every woman I see, I respect. It is the main lesson of our Kingdom in Ethiopia.

Janet: Your culture reveals itself to be a nice one.

Haikiem: Yes, it is.. My other reason, as I have told you before.. The great Mother Hindi hath shown me that you are my wife.

Janet: Dear Prince, do tell me of this Great Mother Hindi..

Haikiem: Great Mother Hindi is our most trusted advisor. She has been blessed with the sight of the things that are to come and not of the eyes of man.

Janet: She cannot see?

Haikiem: No. But she knows what you look like. She hath told me who to look for. She has said that you will make a great wife.

She thought of this for a while and then had an idea.

Janet: Tell me of your land and the people in it.

Haikiem: Well, we have many people in our Kingdom. Many of the people have equal wealth but we all dress as royalty and live how we please. Our laws protect us and the Great Mother Hindi is the oldest elder of our Kingdom. She has helped us win many wars because of her sight of the things that were to come.

They held their hands together in the air and began to circle each other.

Haikiem: My Father is the King and I shall become the King when he passes on to the next place with all of our other good Kings.

Janet: Do you only marry royalty?

Haikiem: No. We are given a choice. We marry all time. The King before my father had sixteen wives and seventy-two concubines. Only one of his wives were a royal. My father was his first born son. So, our Kingdom is our family. We are all equal.

Janet: You have a great Kingdom.. Perhaps I shall come and see the land..

Haikiem: Yes. Many would love to meet you. The Great Mother Hindi would pour a blessing into your hand and my parents shall shower you with gold and salt.

Janet: Salt?

Haikiem: That is what we are known for. That is why we are rich. The salt that we make and sell to other countries and Kingdoms is our key thing to get the materials and food that we need for making clothes and houses.

Janet: You make your own clothes and build your own houses?

Haikiem: Yes. As a family, we work together. No one is left behind.

Janet: What about foreigners?

Haikiem: They visit and can only stay if they marry into the family.

Janet: I can see many foreign men staying.

Haikiem: Only one stays every few years.

Janet: Really?

Haikiem: Yes. They have a family and take what they want back to their families. The sun becomes too much for some and they go back. Other men are only passing through our city. There is only one problem with our Kingdom.

Janet: And what is that?

Haikiem: Water. We buy much water, but it is not always enough. We value water more than anything.

Janet: More than gold?

Haikiem: Yes. We cannot eat the gold, our clothes and our houses. We cannot drink the dirty rivers that run through our streets, although some try. Water is the only thing that can help us and keep us alive. We can live without gold, but water, we cannot.

Janet: Then why must you buy so much gold?

Haikiem: Weapons for war and money for trade.

Janet: You fight with gold?

Haikiem: You live in a palace where it seems to be the 18th century.. I live in a time where we use not such fancy words and use guns for war. That is how we fight and that is how we win.

Janet: I understand.

Haikiem: Then so be it. I shall see you another night, Princess. Now, I must go.

He kissed her hand and left.