Pōlani and the Holoholona (A Beauty and Beast Retelling)

Malo'olehua is the fourth youngest of 14 daughters of Kuakea-kūʻolo, an esteemed chief of Kaunakakai, Moloka'i, which is an infamous seaport of great trade and rest between the fearsome channels that surround Moloka'i. She is the least beautiful, but the most like her father, taking up his mastery in carving and patience. Her life is threatened with an unsettling situation of heart and mind: marry the Fijian chief, Tui Namuta, or risk a war commencing that involves all who she holds dear.

Ho'opae, an ancient and forsaken son of one of the greatest chiefs of O'ahu, is sealed within a pali to be utterly forgotten from mo'olelo and undisturbed, until a fool decides to wander to his lands and cut a beloved tree down. Will the lithe form that follows save the poor fool? Or will she save him?

Forget what you think you know of Hawaiian stories. This will be written with Hawaiian meiwi (nuances) in literature. This is my heritage, and the story will be an instrument to express. Come with an open mind, as the story can progress and alternate as any mo'olelo of my people, and I will not translate for you.

Please use the Hawaiian dictionary for any words or phrases that you may not know:
https://wehewehe.org