CHAPTER 127: THE THIRD MAN

{Music Recommendation: Start a War ~ Klergy & Valerie Broussard}

"We should all get ready, the men will arrive soon."

Jenna woke up to see the women in the house more excited than she had ever seen them ever since she arrived. The last time she saw women this happy was during the festival of maidens.

Here, most of them had missed breakfast and Jenna knew this because the table was almost empty, and a lot of leftovers were sent back to the kitchen.

Now standing at the hallway of the big room, Jenna folded her arm on her chest as she watched the women get ready.

"Red is your color, you see? Now find a shoe to fit."

It was a very lovely scene to watch, Jenna thought. The women helped each other out and even made fun of their own dressing just for a quick laugh.

"Will you not get dressed?" Lois, who had arrived with Olivia, asked Jenna, standing beside the door. Her eyes also on the crowd.

Jenna turned to look at the woman, she hadn’t seen her since their last conversation. "Does that not also apply to you?"

Lois scoffed, shaking her head. "I am not getting dressed to be another man’s option."

Jenna tilted her head to the side with a brow raised.

Olivia snickered, covering her mouth with her hand. When she raised her face, she said, "What Lois is saying is that... the ladies are dressing to be picked by the men who are coming for you. In some cases, when the men see other maidens, their desire to fight fades and they pick an available maiden here." the girl gestured.

"Or in some cases, the one who loses is allowed to pick another maiden from here. So why not create a good rapport for posterity’s sake." Olivia said with a shrug.

Jenna nodded in amazement, she finally understood what was going on. The women would have a chance to be married by one of the men.

"Rare cases, even the one who has won the woman of his choice also picks a concubine." Lois threw it in with a shrug. "It all matters how much of a faithful man is this man who poses to fight for you."

Jenna snapped her neck, she knew she wasn’t going to like the young woman the first time they met. They had only just called a truce. She ignored her words and turned her attention back on the women who were dressing up.

"Now now, ladies." Olivia stepped forward, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. "The one true bride is standing here and not in her best dress." the girl pointed at Jenna.

"If she doesn’t look her best, how can the men know we really wish to be married?" Olivia asked. "How will she tell us the things she knows about men?" she slapped the back of one hand on her palm, her brows raised in question.

Jenna raised her upper lip, "What is she talking about?"

"You’ll see," Lois chuckled, shifting away from Jenna slightly.

Every woman in the room turned to look at Jenna, their chittering died down and their dresses and make-ups dropped.

"She is not dressed," they muttered amongst each other.

Jenna waved her hand, "Don’t worry about me, you all should take your time to..."

"She needs to be dressed," they murmured, now looking at Jenna like desert dwellers at the sight of fresh spring.

Jenna took a step back towards the door, but Lois closed the door with a sharp click.

"You crazed—" Jenna cursed but it was too late. When she turned, the women had surrounded her.

"Ladies, I really have no intentions of getting dressed. I don’t wear dresses—"

Jenna’s words floated in the room, the maidens lifted her from the ground making her sit in front of the vanity. Before she could say anything else, they had gathered her, choosing make-ups and outfits for her.

"She needs a white."

"No, a gold color will do just fine."

Horrified, Jenna stared at the mirror almost panicking, she placed her hands on her lap allowing the women to do what they wanted.

"Tell us, how can I make a man love me?"

"Do they like a woman wild or meek? I need to know how to act."

"What about in the room, I have never had a man, do I let him begin or do they like it when you take charge? I did hear they do but for prostitutes..."

The questions came flying around the room from different angles. Jenna turned her head around not sure who to answer first. Even the women who had tried to mock her at the dining gathered near her, their eyes blazed in curiosity. Jenna loved the moment, it was odd but she did. Seeing women lay down their claws and teeth, now harmonized as one. It was great to see. When she saw Olivia and Lois laughing at her from a corner, Jenna snarled at them, but with a smile.

"Well, real men usually like women who can think for themselves, I guess?" Jenna answered. Expecting a backlash, Jenna twitched her lips and waited.

"I knew it! Theo left me because I always agreed with his nonsense!" a woman remarked in the room and others agreed.

Soon their voices filled the room again with chatters and giggles, while they still dressed up.

Each time Jenna threw her head back in laughter at their comment, she found Lois and Olivia basking in the moment too.

"Silence ladies!" Lady Rachel, who had just arrived, rapped her cane on the door, and they all obeyed the woman’s voice.

"If you will dress up, then be like ladies. Don’t act like hagglers in the market." she warned with a stern glare.

Olivia ran to the woman, wrapping her arm around her neck. "Nana, stop acting mean to them... let us play around just today, please..."

The woman’s eyes softened, staring at the little girl, "You—"

"Nana please...." everyone in the room mimicked Olivia. Even Jenna found herself doing so. When she realized, she covered her face to laugh, hoping nobody had seen her.

Lady Rachel opened her mouth and closed it, defeated. She shifted, "Well... just for today," she turned to leave, "And um Jenna... someone is here for you."

Jenna touched her chest and the woman nodded. She stood up, excusing herself from the other women.

"Quick Jenna, we will be waiting."

Dragging the heavy dress with her hand, Jenna walked down the hallway wondering who it was that had come to see her.

Standing outside, with his back turned, a young man dressed in cream fine silk stared at the sky with a small smile on his face.

"Ha—Hart?"

The young man turned at Jenna’s voice, his smile grew even wider at the sight of Jenna. "Love," he replied.

Jenna’s heart skipped, she had a bad feeling about this but she continued walking until she got to the young man. "How... why are you here?"

"The ritual will begin soon but I wanted to be the first to tell you." Hart took out a letter from his pocket, "I was overjoyed when I got the letter to join in the tournament."

"Join?"

Hart put the letter back into his pocket, he grabbed Jenna’s hand and pressed it to his chest. "I never imagined that one day I will have the opportunity to make you mine, I’d dreamed of it all my life. I don’t know what happened but maybe the heavens finally saw my heart. Not to worry, Jenna, this time I will make things right... I will make you mine."

"W-what is going on?"