Prince Tapriyasta picked up the voice of his twin sister. He stopped walking and started paying attention to the two of them. What else did his older brother get himself into? 

Prince Basandaya gazed at the intensity in Princess Tastri's face. Did he make the wrong decision? Did he upset his little sister? Did his decision destroy her hopes and dreams of marrying a dashing prince from the prosperous land of cocoa? 

"Yes," he answered truthfully. 

In a heartbeat, Princess Tastri's face brightened up and she made a long, relieved sigh.

"Finally," she said as she laughed happily. "The gods show that they do listen. I shall pray more."

Prince Basandaya chuckled. He did the right thing after all. 

"So, you were not happy that you were going to marry the prince of Potiti?" he embraced her as they continued their walk to the dining hall. "Why?" 

"Well, what is the point of getting married to a foreign royal if I don't get to be queen?" Princess Tastri looked up at him. "Furthermore, I highly doubt that Potiti's palace has a pool like ours." 

Prince Basandaya raised his eyebrows. "You do know that Potiti and Nui share 2,000 islands between them, do you not? They don't need to have a pool in their palace. Their kingdom is 70% water." 

Princess Tastri shrugged. "Still not a pool." 

"So in order to receive your hand in marriage, a prince must build a palace with a magnificent pool that rivals ours," Prince Basandaya nodded. "I shall let them know next time." 

"No, don't," replied Princess Tastri. "I want them to figure it out themselves." 

They were joined by Prince Tapriyasta who didn't look as happy. "I thought you only called off Jiyani's engagement," he said. 

"The recent development urged me to reevaluate Father's decisions," answered Prince Basandaya. "In the end, I called off all of their engagements." 

"Including Tis'?" Princess Tastri was shocked. "Oh, Brother. Now you've done it." 

"Done what?" 

"Marrying Prince Niwarna is perhaps Tis' only ambition ever since they were introduced to each other," answered Princess Tastri. "To be honest, I personally would be quite vexed if my road to become a queen suddenly vanished." 

"I'm sure she will understand," Prince Basandaya's steps slowed when the princess in question appeared right at the end of the hallway, "once she knows the reasoning behind the dissolution." 

Seeing how Princess Tistara marched toward them while pulling her nayin up so she didn't get stumbled, Princess Tastri scoffed, "I agree. But first, she will demonstrate her viciousness toward you." 

"Bas!" Princess Tistara's voice echoed through the hallway. 

"You two run along," Prince Basandaya told Prince Tapriyasta and Princess Tastri. "I'll see you at the dining hall." 

They left the Prince Regent to face their twin sister in private. While passing her by, Princess Tastri asked her not to be so hard on him. The two then entered the dining hall. Now there were only Prince Basandaya and Princess Tistara in the hallway. 

"On whose authority is it that you called off my seven years engagement with Niwarna?" blasted the girl in orange bikaya and brown nayin.

Prince Basandaya tilted his head. "I'm quite sure you know what 'regent' means, Tiss-pants."

"Do not patronize me, Brother," barked his half sister. "You cannot just waltz into the throne and undo every resolve that Father had set." 

"As a matter of fact, I can. That is exactly what a regent can do." 

"Why can't you just let me be happy?!" 

"Because first, I want you to be safe." 

The Prince Regent made a brief but clear explanation about the reasoning behind his judgment. The fire in Princess Tistara's furious eyes was still burning, but not as fierce as it was earlier.

Prince Basandaya knew she had different sets of priorities compared to her twins. Prince Tapriyasta was all about preparation as the king. All he knew in his life was only duty. The poor boy didn't get to dig more about himself and find his other passions and capabilities. Meanwhile, Princess Tastri was exactly his opposite. She touched everything that she could get her hands on; knowledge, poetry, art, music, pegasus-riding, swordmanship, swimming, sewing, cooking and many other skills. The only thing that she cared about was how to make herself greater, hence her dream of becoming a queen consort. 

However, Princess Tistara managed to balance both her duty and passion. Her anger toward this dissolution was because she understood that marrying Prince Niwarna was her duty, but becoming a fulfilling wife for a crown prince was her passion. She had been very close to her mother who taught her how to be an excellent woman, an excellent wife and an excellent queen, and that's all she'd ever wanted. 

Princess Tistara carefully listened to Prince Basandaya's explanation. And finally, she found a reason to protest, "Angkuripan is the only kingdom in Sanuratna sub-region that has an unmarried crown prince within my age. Apart from Potiti and Tenrana, I suppose. But you know I cannot marry another Tenranese. I am promised to be the consort, not a second, third, fourth wife. That's my right. And I'm not allowed to marry anyone from outside Sanuratna. That's the law."

"Maybe I'll change the law," replied Prince Basandaya casually. "So that you can marry a Garieval prince, or maybe not even a prince at all."

Princess Tistara's face was red with anger. "You..."

"You will marry someone else," insisted Prince Basandaya. The strict tone in his voice was something that even Princess Tistara had never heard before. "Someone better. Someone who will cherish you as a woman, not a reward."

And the fire was snuffed. Prince Basandaya found a way that connected with her soul. The words resonated in her mind like a choir of angels. Perhaps her brother was on to something. 

The moment she broke her eye contact, Prince Basandaya smiled. "We'll talk more about it," he said. "But now, let's eat." 

The Prince Regent continued his walk toward the dining hall. Princess Tistara followed quietly behind. 

Just at the end of the hallway, the doormen let them in to the semi-outdoor dining room that overlooked the open space. It's a private dining room for the royal family and their guests, separate from the dining room for the officials who worked in that building. 

The only wall that connected to the hallway of Talandang Hall had a magnificent engraving of the magical forest in Ranundala. At the center, there was a table that was shorter the table in the officials' dining room, making it so hard for unwanted people to join in. The triangle-shaped ceiling was high, with white curtains hanging on the sides all the way down to the floor. The hardwood floor was covered with a carpet with such sublime pattern. With no other walls nor windows, they could see the nindeer roaming around with a lush koi pond as the barrier. 

Prince Basandaya was just heading to the table when his nayin was stuck on something. A low giggle was heard from behind him. 

He grunted. "I told you," he turned around, "not to attack my nayin!" 

Princess Jiyani laughed seeing his playful rage. She stepped away from the nayin on the floor that was nearly yanked altogether. The Prince Regent almost suffered a racy wardrobe malfunction there. 

"What did I do this time, huh?" Prince Basandaya fixed his nayin. "Are you upset about the engagement too?" 

"What engagement?" asked the short-haired girl. 

Prince Basandaya paused. Right. She didn't even know that she had been engaged with the prince of Chamnam. There was no reason for her to know about it now. 

"Nothing," he replied. 

"Who's getting engaged?" reiterated Princess Jiyani. 

"Pri," answered Prince Basandaya. "Pri's engaged and getting married."

"I know that."

"Right. But do you know that one of the nindeer... what's her name... oh, Velvet! Do you know that Velvet is going to have a baby?"

"Really?" 

The two joined their family at the table. Princess Ritoja was already there, being the only one who wore a head shawl and traditional Tenranese short sleeve blouse. Princess Sinamur arrived soon after, guiding the Queen Dowager by her arm. And lastly, Prince Grahuri took his place beside Princess Tistara. He always preferred to dine with his family instead of fellow ministers in the other dining hall. 

As soon as they finished the lunch, the Queen Dowager and Princess Sinamur left the dining hall first. One by one, they returned to their activities. Except Prince Tapriyasta. 

He walked beside his older brother, clearly trying to strike up a conversation. The Prince Regent glanced at him and said, "Is there anything bothering you?" 

"Yes, there is, actually," answered the seventeen-year-old. "With the broken engagements, does that mean I'm the only one getting married?" 

"And this is bothering you because...?" 

"It seems like I'm the only one who's doing my duty in this family," Prince Tapriyasta crossed his arms on his chest.

"What are you talking about? I am doing my duty here, am I not? I'm getting everything set up and ready for you to take over." 

"It's not about that kind of duty." 

Prince Basandaya stopped walking. He inspected the restlessness in Prince Tapriyasta's demeanor. "Goodness me," he sighed. "Are you telling me you're getting cold feet about marrying Ralinta?" 

The boy in maroon jerwan sighed. "Getting married feels like such a mature, a permanent decision," he spoke up. "I don't suppose we should rush this kind of thing. I don't suppose we should rush anything. That's what Pram Agrawi says." 

"True." Prince Tapriyasta was surprised hearing him agree with his thoughts. "But that only applies to normal people under normal circumstances. You're the crown prince and this isn't a normal circumstance." 

"I just... I'm not even sure if Ralinta is the right person for me."

"Nonsense. She's a perfect fit. Besides, you're obsessed with her since you were eight."

"Even more reason you shouldn't trust my choice."

Prince Basandaya touched his brother's shoulder. "Be honest with me, Pri, is this about the lady or the marriage itself?"

"I... I don't know..." Prince Tapriyasta looked away. 

His older brother sighed. "Is this one of Kriwukti's ideas?" he asked. He never liked that one friend of his. "What did he say to you? I can't believe he still manages to mess with your mind while being miles away on a grand tour."

"No, it's not," replied the Crown Prince. "Will you please stop blaming him for everything that I say? Now that he's gone, I thought you'd be kinder to him."

"Pri," Prince Basandaya put his hands behind his back. "You need to get married to secure your line of succession. Remember how hard it was for Father to finally have an heir."

"You were born soon after Father and Mother Ri wedded. Perhaps I should marry a Tenranese princess too."

"Perhaps. After Ralinta."

"Brother!"

"If you die without a successor, the throne falls to Tis and none of us wants that." The disapproving glare from Prince Tapriyasta made Prince Basandaya quickly add, "Jiyani would make a better queen."

Prince Tapriyasta scoffed. "Jiyani hasn't reached age 13."

"Good point."

"Nevertheless, it's highly likely that I die without a successor," Prince Tapriyasta crossed his arms on his chest, "for this kingdom will be attacked by those brokenhearted princes."

"They can try. But that is my responsibility. Yours is to have lots and lots of babies."

Prince Tapriyasta blushed. 

Ending the conversation, Prince Basandaya bid his goodbye for he must return to his study room where he would continue his work with the documents. Once he arrived there, a new stack of letters was placed in the middle of the desk in his study room. There was a piece of paper with Renggi Nanta's handwriting on top of it. It said 'Potiti'. 

Prince Basandaya took the the topmost envelope. It was secured by a wax seal in the shape of a gryphon, the symbol of the Kingdom of Potiti. He opened it and read the letter carefully. 

The letter was from King Molemo himself. The first part of it was wishing him good health and success, then he apologized about his failure of keeping thirteen islands on the west of Potiti from falling into the Kingdom of Nui's hands. He hoped that it didn't sever the ties between their two kingdoms and asked the Prince Regent to reconsider the engagement between Prince Efanhar and Princess Tastri. 

He immediately drafted a reply. His letter also contained wishes of good health and success. It addressed the problem with the islands without making a big fuss about it despite his disappointment, concluding that their kingdoms would remain friendly with each other. 

As with the engagement, he wrote that the only person who could make the final decision was only Princess Tastri herself. It would depend on Prince Efanhar whether he could win her heart or otherwise. He finished his draft and put it on a special box which Renggi Nanta would review and finalize. 

In another part of the palace, Princess Tistara was making her way toward The Heavenly Garden with her maids. Coming from the other direction, Kinalu was just dismissed from his training with the other palace guards. During his play fight, Gaptin Jantra Kawa managed to punch his left eye and now it's swollen. He was hurt and pissed that once dismissed he went for a walk on his own. But then he saw a caretaker nearly fell off the ladder while trimming a tree. His reaction made him laugh and forget about his swollen eye. And when he looked away, still laughing, he locked eyes with Princess Tistara.