"Answer me!" The Chieftana shouted again that even Enoch himself thought she was acting insane. From shouting at Bitbit, she dragged her gaze to the kitchen cook and gave the latter a sharp gaze. The Chieftain cook immediately lowered his head as a response.

"Mother! Please lower your voice, he is only a child," Enoch unintentionally chided the Chieftana. When she heard him, her angry face turned messed up, she seemed upset, confused and worried. Nevertheless, Enoch thought she was merely stressed out because of her husband's disappearance.

​​

"Mother clam down, there is a crowd before us," Princess Wang tried to ease her mother as she whispered into her ears. By the way their mother was acting, she knew something was off.

When the Chieftana quieted, Enoch continued to question the boy. Although he was not able to taste such fruit, Enoch was aware that strawberries grew in the Manggan Island before. It was written in their history as it was first introduced to the villages by the first Chieftana. It was also her favorite fruit. However, years after her death, the farmer stopped growing them for unclear reasons.

"He just asked me where I got the fruit that I was eating," Bitbit corrected his own words. His voice was already cracking, an indication that he was holding his tears. Good thing that Professor Owens came with him and wrapped his arms protectively on his shoulders, if not, he had already cried since the Chieftana shouted at him.

"Bitbit, it had been long since strawberries were gone. I myself was not able to taste that fruit so I'm sure your generation haven't tasted it too. Care to tell me where did you get the fruit you were claiming as strawberries?"

"The fruit is really strawberries" It was professor Owens who answered this time. He hated the fact that Bitbit had been subjected to the situation where adults can freely shout at him as they like and so he wanted to speed up the process so that he can already bring Bitbit home. "The healer had been planting them since last year. She had started a new harvest yesterday and sent us some"

"What? The healer? How dare she plant strawberries in my island!" The Chieftana got angrier this time when she heard it. Unknown to everyone, after the first Chieftana died, it took them—the recent Chieftana and her family— a huge effort to convince the Chieftain to marry again and more sweat to make him chose her to be his wife. She had made so many sacrifices, shed many blood and even to the point that she had to threatened farmers not to plant strawberries as to erase every memory of the first Chieftana that would remind the Chieftain and the villagers. She tried to wipe her memories out and yet they lingered and haunted her until today.

"Our land," Baruk Tsu corrected her. "The Manggan Island does not belong to anyone but to every one of us. Besides, why are you so mad with the fact that the healer planted strawberries? Shouldn't you be happy instead, as the fruit resurfaced after many years?"

"Right. The fruit tastes very sweet as I remember. Now that it has reappeared I'm sure it will be a hit in the market. Our farmers will have more profits if they can grow strawberries again like the healer did" Another Baruk sustained Baruk Tsu's words.

The Chieftana was left speechless with Baruk Tsu's instigation. Her face became pale as the crowd frowned before her.

"Mother is just stress out that father is missing" Princess Wang defended her. "Please just understand. We all know how much she loved father,"

"Princess Wang. Why don't you escort mother to her chambers?" Enoch suggested. Everyone saw how the Chieftana's temper went too much for her to handle and so they agreed quietly to the Chieftain heir's suggestion.

"Very well," Princess Wang turned to assist her mother who was not able to redeem herself. It was the first time that she acted rudely in front of a crowd as she was always the composed, patient and wise Chieftana she cautiously portrayed so and yet today everyone witnessed how mad she can be. Of course she regretted having to lose it all but she blamed it all to the healer and her strawberries. How dare that intruder ruin the name she managed to put up all these years! That bitch!

"Come mother, let me and my sister take you to your chambers," Princess Wang's words pulled her thoughts back to her and so she tried to pick herself from the Chieftain's seat that was situated in the center of the great hall. However, before her feet could completely support her, the great door opened up and what came next almost made her lose her breathe. She wished right then she had not chosen to sit at the Highest seat when she came earlier.

It was the Chieftain. He entered the room, walking with strength and vigor as if he had never been sick, carrying his youngest daughter in his other arm. His expression was dim and his eyes fired up as if he was about to conquer an enemy. At his back were Xhemin and Handmaid Lin, who had followed the father and daughter tandem from the mountain down here in the central village. Both of them knew how mad the Chieftain was and that any minute from now, the highest leader in the whole Manggan Island will erupt wildly like a volcano.

"My…my..hus—husband.." The Chieftana's voice was cracking. It was like she had seen a dead person rose from the dead with the view she witnessed. She shrunk into the chieftain's seat unable to move, not even able to stand up and threw herself away from the seat that originally belong to the man who just came.

"Father!" Both Princess Wang and Tang covered their mouth at disbelief. Like their mother, they felt shivers in their spine as guilt and fear took over them. Like a culprit that had been exposed, they flushed a face full of guilt.

"No one is leaving," The Chieftain roared, halting everyone's move in the great hall.