Festival of Agham

Vashti's servant, Rem, squeezed her swollen chest for the second time.

"O-ouch," Vashti protested. Her chest always hurt days before she bleeds.

"Do you think I still have a chance to conceive tonight?" Vashti asked her loyal handmaiden, who just smiled. She knew that Rem, just like her, had been through a lot trying to dance with fate when it comes to her fertility. She needs to get pregnant, it's her only ticket to be a Dayang - a Datu's royal bride - a tribal queen.

Rem, together with other servants given to her, is bathing her in a huge tub filled with scented fresh water from the river of Nube. It is rumored that the water falling from Mount Sarai to the river of Nube can make a woman fertile. Vashti doesn't believe in such tall tales, at least not anymore.

As she was being scrubbed clean all over her naked body, She closed her eyes anticipating the night ahead. It will be the first time that Azah will sleep with her, the thought made her sick to her stomach. She doesn't know what's making her anxious, the fact that this is not the first time for her to sleep with a man, that her thoughts are always with Loki, or that in the Novo tribe, Azah has to make love with her in front of all the people of Novo to see.

"She's very lucky, Datu Novo chose her though this is not her first house.”

Vashti and the others overheard murmurs from outside her hut.

"Azah wants her first, he just gave way to Loki being that he is from the tribe of Gener," another voice answered.

“Pity. She could have been a Rajah's wife, a Hara. Now she has to settle with just being a Dayang," the girl giggled. Vashti recognized her voice as one of Novo's Bini, a court lady.

"Well, only if she gets pregnant this time. If not, she will be just like us, thrown in the 3rd house that will choose her as a concubine. That is if there will be another house that’ll…"

BLAG!

Vashti opened her eyes in time to see Rem threw something in the direction of the voices. They heard gasping followed by hurrying footsteps away from the hut, and then the voices were gone.

Vashti felt Rem's hand on her face, washing away traces of tears flowing down her cheeks. Her handmaiden has always been like a mother to her, though Rem looks quite young to be a mother.

It is true though, what the court ladies were gossiping about. The house of Loki from the tribe of Gener, the first son of Rajah Malacaz, took her from Viscot as a young virgin, to be made a Hara, the queen of the whole kingdom. She lived like one for a year, serving the Rajah nightly not just on his bed. They became more than just an arranged couple. All the twelve tribes of Malacaz rooted for them. For a while, they were the most envied couple in the whole kingdom. Then, the Rajah had to return her to Viscot for failing to give him an heir. Vashti is marked barren in the eyes of the house of Loki.

That's when the nobles from the Novo tribe took her from Viscot and brought her before Azah the reigning Datu Novo.

"I knew you would be mine! You are even more beautiful than the first time I saw you," Azah exclaimed when she was presented before his court. Surrounded by his council, he ordered the ceremony of Agham to be done the following night.

"M-my lord, we have to wait for the full moon to ensure that.." one of Azah's advisers, Apo Nri, protested. He is a little older than Azah yet the youngest among the Datu's councilmen.

"I can't wait that long!" Datu Novo threw away the goblet of wine he was holding, startling Vashti as it crashed on the floor spilling red liquid on the ground.

"Y-yours will be done my Lord," the whole council agreed. Azah, as the royal chieftain of the Novo tribe is known for his ruthlessness, especially when his indulgence is not satisfied.

Now, only days and barely rested from a very long journey, accompanied by Rem, from Viscot to Novo tribe, Vashti must prepare herself for an evening with the Datu. The ceremony of Agham will be done at the center of the courthouse for all the people to witness.

Vashti heard rumors about the tribe Novo's way of life. They are not just ruthless, they’re deadly too. The tribe is known to earn their keep by conducting rituals and ceremonies for the dead. The whole kingdom got rid of the bad spirit brought about by deaths, natural or otherwise, through paying the Novos gold, properties, and even slaves for a simple cleansing ceremony.

Used to seeing corpses of all shapes and sizes, Novos is rumored to have no fear of dying at all. That's why they can be as fierce fighters as the warriors from the tribe of Gustav. More than the celebration of the dead, the Novos are known to also have an unsavory reputation when it comes to festivals. Their rituals are frowned upon by the whole kingdom.

Now, Vashti will learn if there's truth in any of the things that she heard and learned about them.

"What?" Vashti asked Rem warily, she doesn't like it when her servant is quiet like this. It means she’s about to argue with her.

“N-nothing, my lady," Rem continued toweling her dry. She is tempted to share her thoughts with Vashti, but the truth will not make any difference at all. Her task is to prepare her lady to be beautiful and ready for Datu Novo tonight, and she must only concentrate on fulfilling such a task.

Adorn with nothing but head ornaments and rare pieces of jewelry, Vashti put on the robe that her mother intricately made for her. Being from the tribe of Seth, who are known for music, artistry, and design, their garments are colorfully handcrafted down to the last thread. The robe is silky soft on her naked body, this comforted Vashti somehow.