kingdom of hearts | sumellika

• chapter one •

Amar pulled out his book, and began to read. He flipped the page, as his eyes scanned the words when someone entered his room.

He looked up to see his mother, her light brown eyes staring at him. She had straight hair that Amar loved smelling when he was younger.

It was a weird obsession and he knew it.

He closed his book and kept it aside. He looked up at his mother. "What happened?" Amar asked her.

"Your father...well, he has an idea," her mother began.

He raised an eyebrow. "And that idea is...?" He drawled the last word.

"He plans on getting you married."

Amar was shocked when he heard this but he kept a calm expression on his face. "What? Why?" he mumbled.

"He thinks that in order to get you out of your world filled with books, he needs to get you married to someone," his mother explained.

That's a really stupid reason, he thought, but didn't say it out loud. "Who is he even looking for?"

"I don't know, maybe with kingdoms who are our allies," she replied. "I just thought I would let you know..."

"Thanks," he said.

His mother nodded then left his room, leaving him in a confused daze.

Him? Married to someone?

It wasn't like he hated the thought of marriage, he just felt as if he wasn't ready for it. He didn't think it was time for his marriage, but clearly his father did not have the same opinions as Amar.

But when did my father ever respect my opinions?

🥀

"This is horrible!" Madhuri exclaimed.

Her fourteen year old sister walked behind her. "But why, didi?" she asked.

Madhuri sat down on a chaise, fiddling with a piece of her wavy black hair. "You won't understand, Amira," she said. "You are still young, you don't understand how this society treats women."

Call Madhuri a fierce feminist and she won't deny. She knew that she was a feminist, and she was sick and tired of double standards.

"But it's just a marriage, didi!" Amira exclaimed.

Madhuri sighed. "Just leave it," she mumbled. "Where do you think that ma is searching for alliances?"

"Nearby kingdoms, anyone who's interested," her sister answered.

"This is stupid, utterly stupid," Madhuri continued, as she cursed softly under her breath.

Maybe she was overreacting?
She just did not want to get married. She wanted to spend her life like her aunt.

Sure, her aunt was highly judged in front of the society's eyes for she did not marry, and continued to stay unmarried.

It wasn't as if no man found her good enough to marry, she was the one who didn't want to get married.

Ever since that incident, every mother would look to their female child and say, "Don't end up like her!"

Madhuri's mother had said the same think. She also complained that "Your aunt is rubbing off on you! You're losing your wish to marry someone!"