After a few minutes, Molya rushed through the entrance of the tree house with a small wooden platform, handing it over to Orion for him to sit on.
"Alright then, now that we are all here, let the meeting...." Caretaker Ivor announced, but before he could finish his sentence, a clear cough sounded from the opposite side, interrupting him.
"Ahem! Shouldn't we wait for the Village Chieftess to arrive first since she was the one who specifically arranged this meeting this morning?" Caretaker Shani asked, her brows furrowed, prompting the other Caretakers in the room to nod in agreement.
Caretaker Ivor suddenly realized that he might have gotten too carried away in his readiness to hear Orion's solution to the newborns' problem. He quickly regained his composure, exhaling deeply, and said, "Very well, let us wait for the Village Chieftess. Hopefully, she arrives early so that the meeting can commence."
The room fell silent, except for the various sounds of a baby's laughter that occasionally filled the air, as everyone waited patiently for the Village Chieftess to arrive. Orion, however, couldn't help but let his gaze linger on Mrs Shani and the baby, pondering their relationship with each other.
.….........
"Wait here," Zara said to her personal guard, instructing them to remain outside the hut as she pushed the door open and stepped inside to meet the Village Chief. However, the moment she entered, her eyes widened before narrowing at the sight of her husband wiping off beads of water from his naked body. "What are you doing?" she couldn't help but ask.
The Village Chief, noticing his wife's entrance and hearing her question, responded with a snort, "What does it look like I'm doing?" He then answered his question, "I'm preparing to attend the meeting, of course, just as you wanted," he explained.
Zara raised her eyebrow in surprise, then narrowed her eyes at her husband as she asked, "What are you planning, Brane?"
"Well," The Village Chief smiled as he threw the piece of cloth that he had used to wipe his body clean before he picked up his tulga from the mat and wore it around his waist, "I initially thought of staying and leaving the whole issue for you to handle. But then I realized that this meeting concerns the issue that has plagued our village for more than a century. So, there's no way that I, as the Village Chief, should miss such a crucial gathering, no matter the circumstances."
With his tulga properly worn, he locked eyes with his wife and added, "If Orion is truly able to come up with a plan to solve this mess in such a short amount of time, given the kind of enigma that young man is, I would deeply regret not being present to witness his proposal myself."
The Village Chieftess furrowed her brows at her husband's words, "You are talking as if that boy has already come up with a viable plan. You do know that the only reason why I gave him this task is for him to be present in the meeting with the Caretakers, so they can collectively discuss and come up with a plan together."
While she recognized Orion's intelligence, she knew it was impossible for him to devise a plan in such a short time. That's why she planned for him to sit with the Caretakers and participate in formulating a solution for the newborns.
The Village Chief's smile widened as he heard his wife's words. He glanced at her for a moment before shifting his focus to the wooden door and started walking towards it, saying, "Rather than staying here and talking about it, we won't find out until we arrive and see for ourselves, right?" Pulling the door open, he turned around to look at Zara and added, "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go."
Zara snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at her husband momentarily before sighing and shaking her head tiredly. As she began to walk forward, she said, "You are overestimating that boy's capabilities way too much, Brane." She stopped in front of her husband and looked into his eyes, "I hope you don't come to regret it someday."
The Village Chief's smile disappeared, and a stern, well-composed expression befitting a man who has been handling the affairs of the village since the age of 30 took its place. "I won't," he said firmly.
Without skipping a beat, Zara turned around and left the hut, her voice trailing behind her, "Let's get going then, we don't want to keep them waiting."
The Village Chief shut the door close and walked beside her, with the guards trailing behind them.
…........
After waiting for an additional thirty minutes for the Village Chieftess to arrive, Orion began to feel a bit tired. However, he was amazed at how the caretakers managed to remain so patient and quiet for such a long time. To keep himself occupied, he revised his plan over and over again, occasionally stealing glances at Mrs Shani and the baby in her arms, trying to figure out if the baby was indeed hers as he observed them playing together.
Just when he felt his shoulders slumping further due to boredom, a large shadow suddenly blocked the light outside the thick curtains, capturing everyone's attention. Abruptly, the shadow dissipated, and the side of the thick curtains was pulled open, revealing the Village Chieftess with a stern and composed expression. Surprisingly, following behind her was the Village Chief.
"Chief," Caretaker Ivor was the first to respond, a tinge of surprise in his voice, "It's good to see that you are well."
"Yes, it's good to see you back on your feet, Chief," Caretaker Naida chimed in, her voice warm with approval, while the rest of the caretakers silently nodded in agreement.
Considering the Chieftess had informed them otherwise the previous day, the Caretakers couldn't hide their astonishment at the Village Chief's unexpected arrival. Nonetheless, they were pleased to have his presence, knowing that this particular issue required his involvement.
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