Bride of the Moso Prince Read online

  That was true. Charlene had a thing for ethnic jewelries. Back home she had a whole drawer of Indian turquoise earrings, wooden necklaces from Africa, Bracelets made of Tibetan Heaven Stones.

  Although he was right about her, Sharon wouldn’t give him the satisfaction to be confirmed. She stopped fiddling with her tea cup and looked up, meeting his teasing eyes with mockery, “Well, you are the only man that I know who notices whether a woman wears jewelry or not.”

  “Is that so?” His face put on an exaggerated pity, and he shook his head, “you poor thing, you haven’t known any men worth knowing!”

  Sharon’s cheeks went crimson with embarrassment and anger, “Well I hate to say that you’re right. And I still don’t know any!”

  To Sharon’s dismay, her intended insult only amused him more. His eyes flickered as he leaned toward her and said in a low voice, “You will soon.”

  Sharon jerked away from him, but was speechless. She swallowed her potato quickly and it almost choked her. After she was done with the potato he dug out an egg from the ash and handed it to her.

  Sharon shook her head. “No, I’m full.” She wasn’t in fact, but merely wanted to get away from him.

  “No wonder you’re so tiny.”

  “Tiny?” Sharon wasn’t used to that adjective. She was five feet five. “Well, I suppose a giraffe would say that to most of the people on earth.”

  “I take it as a compliment. And I also like the name giraffe!” He smiled as he cracked the egg shell and peeled it in the plate before handing it to her again.

  “Eat it. We don’t want you end up ill like your sister.”

  Sharon remembered how Sadama apologized for Charlene being unwell. Reluctantly she took the plate from him and ate the egg slowly.

  While she was getting out of the kitchen he said to her, “Uh, I don’t mind waiting, but you’d better hurry up. It won’t be as pleasant when the plateau sun is heating right above your head.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sharon looked at him with puzzlement.

  “We’re going to a boat ride, aren’t we?”

  “Boat ride with you? Certainly not.” Sharon regretted it as soon as she blurted it out. It was rude of her.

  He paused but a brief moment before his smile spread slowly again, from the corners of his well chiseled lips, “I’m afraid it’s not up to you. Your sister made the appointment for you. And I, in case you haven’t realized, have been waiting here since dawn.”

  He had been waiting for her since dawn? Sharon felt sorry for a moment and hesitated. How could she possibly refuse such hospitality? But the prospect of being alone in a boat with this prince, whose every gesture made her blood boil and every smile made her blush, frightened her. She was not ready for something that romantic…Sharon couldn’t make up her mind. The eager look of Nobul further frustrated her. How could Charlene put her into such a quandary?

  “I didn’t ask for this!” She turned away abruptly and hurried up stairs towards her room.

  Charlene was typing, or pretending to be typing, on her laptop when Sharon went to her room. Sharon had stomped her way to the third floor and was now standing with her hands on her waists, preparing to give a speech to her misbehaved sister.

  “How was breakfast?” Charlene didn’t look at her.

  “It was great. But I’m afraid I would throw it out into the lake soon.”

  “Oh? Why’s that? You having indigestion? I have some medicine.” Charlene reached out for her medicine box on the table next to the bed, still not looking up at Sharon. Her hand was trembling slightly, betraying her nervousness.

  “Stop acting, sis!” Sharon tried hard to stifle her laugh, pleased to see that her little sister was still in awe of her.

  “When did I suggest that I wanted a boat ride?”

  “Well, uh, yesterday?” Charlene looked at her timidly.

  “If I remembered it correctly, you made the suggestion and I said no.”

  “Yeah, you said no to Urcher, but not to Nobul.”

  “He wasn’t there! I would have said no to him too!”

  ”Oh,” Charlene looked genuinely surprised, “I didn’t realize that anyone could say no to Nobul…”

  “Well, I could.” Sharon said, her voice trailing.

  Charlene smiled at her mischievously, “You could? So you haven’t?”

  Sharon put on a white t-shirt over her jeans and out of spite, borrowed a pair of earrings made of large coral beads from Charlene and put them on. She tried to delay the ordeal as long as she could by brushing her teeth slowly and putting on extra layers of sunscreen on her face and arms. Nonetheless, they were in the boat before noon. It was awkward in the first few minutes. Sharon felt like being a crime suspect being taken by the sheriff. She sat on the open deck, far away from Nobul who was in the cabin. She stared at the lake and was determined not to speak a word to that dangerous creature playing captain of the lake.

  But the irritation in her vanished without a trace once the boat left the shore and entered the blue space. It was a beautiful day. The sun was near the center of the sky. Extravagant clouds floated all around in shapes of sheep, of boat, and of fish. Their reflection in the water made it hard to tell the sky from the lake.

  Then she realized that the boat itself was beautiful. Sharon had noticed it the day before but hadn’t gotten a chance to look at it closely. It was a wooden boat but it had high tech too. It could be rowed or motor driven. There was a solar panel on the roof of the cabin and also a wind generator right next to it.

  “This is the first high tech Green boat that I’ve ever seen.” She couldn’t help but remark.

  “It’s probably the only one you’ll ever see,” he smiled smugly, “I designed and built it with the help of a tourist from Sweden.”

  “Really?” Sharon raised her eyebrows. She stood up and examined the boat. Then her eyes fell on the chiseled poles of the cabin roof and she nodded, “incredible! Does it have a name?”

  “Well, I’m still thinking about it. The Sweden guy suggested something like ‘Solar Wind.’ I don’t really like it. It sounds too mechanical. Do you have any suggestions?”

  “Let me see,” Sharon thought seriously for moment.

  “What about something that relates to the place and the culture, like Plateau Sun, Solar Queen, Solar Kingdom…”

  “Or Solar Gemu,” Nobul said with excitement, “Gemu is our Goddess.”

  “There you go.” Sharon nodded.

  But Nobul shook his head, “No, they all sound too formal to me. I want something more personal.”

  “Oh?” Sharon blurted it out, “what about Solar Namu, then?”

  Nobul stared at her abruptly with an expression in his eyes that seemed to be wondering what she meant. Then he shook his head and said, “It’s weird to name my boat after my cousin.”

  Sharon wondered what he meant. But she didn’t have time to ask, for the next minute Nobul took her hand and pulled her into the cabin.

  “Come here, I’ll teach you how to steer.”

  It wasn’t much different from steering a car and soon Sharon was having fun directing the boat across the lake.

  Sharon raised her chin and inhaled the odorless, pure air greedily. Nobul observed her quietly as he rowed the boat with easy strokes. His lips faintly curled up.

  She was careful not to show too much of excitement for she didn’t want him to be self-satisfied. But it didn’t take her long to abandon her guard. The sun cast a layer of shimmering scale on the surface of the lake. Sharon was dazzled as she gazed at it.

  “It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed.

  “So you do like glitter.”

  She glared at him, and was annoyed to find his teasing smile seductive.

  “By the way, those earrings look nice on you.”

  “Thanks.” Sharon blushed at his compliments and looked away. She had worn them out of spite, but now it appeared that she had worn them to please him.

  She looked down at the wat
er on her side. It was so clear. She remembered how good it felt and wanted to jump into it again. Wouldn’t he be incensed if she did? What would he do? Would he jump in after her and “rescue” her once again? The remembrance that he had tugged her under his arm made her tremble. He would be really mad this time and if he got hold of her he would undoubtedly deposit her on the deck and… She inhaled deeply to prevent her imagination going wild and directed her thoughts to a less carnal direction.

  The water was so clear that she could see the algae swaying deep down. It was amazing considering the Moso had been living here for thousands of years.

  “You’ve done a good job preserving the lake.” She said to Nobul.

  A shadow flitted across Nobul’s eyes, “Not always. We almost ruined it.”

  “How?”

  “During the Cultural Revolution there was an effort to turn the part of the lake into rice fields. We, they, our parents’ generation, under the orders of the Han central government, dug holes in attempt to drain the water.”

  Sharon gasped. She had heard foolish stories about cultural revolution, but this was the worst she had heard so far.

  “Then what happened?”

  “They failed. A third of the lake went dry. But rice wouldn’t grow. In the rest of the lake strange things happened too. Lots of fish went dead, and even algae became scarce, while water snake thrived… They realized that Goddess Gemu was punishing us and they refused to obey the Han. It was not until recent years the lake recovered.”

  Sharon by heritage was Han too. She felt guilty for what the government had done to the Moso. Charlene told her that the Han had interfered with Moso’s marriage custom too, saying that it was primitive and immoral and forcing the married couples to establish their own households. It wasn’t until recently that the same custom was accepted and even praised because of international attention that the Moso had gotten and for the sake of tourist development.

  Nobul was still looking solemn in reminiscence. Obviously the past had left a scar on every Moso’s heart.

  “I’m sorry.” Sharon said.

  “For what?” He looked startled.

  “For what we, the Han have done to the Moso.”

  He laughed, “But you didn’t take part in it. You weren’t even born back then.”

  “Still,” Sharon lowered her eyes.

  Nobul said cheerfully “It was in the past. Anyway, we’ve learned our lessons. The lake belongs to Goddess Gemu. She grants us the right to use it, and if she wants, she can take it back.”

  Sharon was impressed by that pious look on his face.

  “That mountain over there is Gemu mountain.” He pointed to her left.

  It was a mountain in the shape of a lion’s upper body. Its head was bare rock and the rest was covered with trees. Vividly illuminated in the slanting sunshine, its face was unmistakably lion’s features, magnificent.

  “Gemu was a female lion?” Sharon asked.

  “Yes. A benevolent goddess with a lion’s strength and a female’s compassion.”

  “Are there any legends about her?”

  “Plenty. What do you want to hear?”

  “Um, let me think. How about how she battled the evil gods and save the land for the Moso?”

  He laughed. “No such violence. She wins with love and compassion, and sometimes tears.”

  “Tears?”

  “Yes. The whole lake is her made of her tears. A sky lord lusted over Gemu, and turned her lover into a hill, and separated them by an uncrossable chasm. Gemu filled the chasm with her tears, so they were connected again.”

  “Interesting. Tears are valued by the Moso?”

  “Exactly, along with love and compassion. Ours is a matriarchal society. We value feminine characteristics.”

  “Do Moso woman really rule?”

  “Yes. The head of the household is always a woman. She owns the property, and she owns the children of her marriage.” Nobul’s voice dwindled.

  Sharon didn’t notice the change in Nobul’s expression. Her eyes beamed with awe, “Walk-marriage is wonderful. A Moso woman is never the slave of her husband.”

  “But a woman doesn’t have to be the slave of her husband even in a Han or western marriage!” Nobul asserted.

  “Um,” the flickers in her eyes died, and she whispered, “but she often is.”

  Nobul sensed that he had touched a sensitive spot of her, and he asked softly, “Have you been married before?”

  “No,” she shook her head quickly, “but I know it from my parents’ marriage.”

  “And you’ve determined not to marry because of that?”

  She blushed at his insight, but nodded nonetheless, “yes.”

  “Maybe you’ll change your mind one day,” he said softly as he gazed intently into her eyes, “after you meet a man that’s willing to be your slave.”

  His words were suggestive and his voice was thick and masculine. Sharon felt the rise of the heat in the center of her body. “I doubt it.” She said hurriedly.

  “Don’t you want children?”

  “Yes I do,” Sharon avoided his eyes. The matter of having children had been troubling her over the years. She loved children, but couldn’t decide whether she should have children without a marriage.

  “Maybe I will have an artificial insemination one day.” She said carelessly.

  “No you won’t!” His solemn look startled her.

  “Don’t tell me you have a problem with that? You being a Moso…” she stopped, remembering his reaction in the cave with she mentioned the word ‘fatherless.’

  Nobul sighed, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have a problem with children growing up without fathers at all. I guess that’s because I’m a quarter Han, or because I didn’t have an uncle who would play the role of a father. When I was a child I always wished my father would play with me during the days. I wanted him to take me to fishing or to the fields. But he only showed up shortly before my bedtime…”

  The sadness and regret in his voice touched her. Sharon looked at Nobul with a tender feeling. The broad strokes of his eyebrows spelt masculinity while his long narrow brown eyes glowed with a softer element. His cheekbones were rounded with kindness while his squared jaw depicted determination. What an interesting combination of features. Sharon felt a strange sensation rise from her lower abdomen as she imagined how it would feel like to touch those mice throbbing under the skin of his upper arm.

  “What are you looking at, me or the scenery?” He asked suddenly with that teasing smile.

  Instead of denying, Sharon teased him back, “I don’t see the difference between the two. Aren’t you part of the scenery?”

  His eyes glittered fiercely, “In that case,” he said and promptly undid the top buttons of his shirt. The smooth brown skin shone in the morning sun.

  Sharon felt weak instantly. She inhaled the cool air of the lake to soothe the burning sensation in the middle of her belly.

  Then she asked defensively, “How do your lovers feel about it when you flirt with tourists?”

  Nobul laughed, “I can’t answer that question.”

  “Why not?” Sharon became curious.

  “First of all, I don’t have any lover, second, I don’t flirt with any tourist.”

  “Then I don’t see how you earned your fist nickname.”

  “It has nothing to do with my nickname. They call me Prince because I’m the grandson of the Empress.”

  “Then how come Urcher wasn’t called Prince?”

  He grinned, “Ok, you got me. Yes, they gave me the nickname for other reasons. And frankly, I don’t deserve it. And I would appreciate it if you won’t call me by that again.”

  “Sure, Prince.” Sharon smiled triumphantly.

  Nobul shook his head, “Do you always win when you argue with your boyfriend?”

  “Unfortunately no.” Sharon said nonchalantly, “because I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “And I can see why.” Nobul nodded.

&n
bsp; “You!” Sharon was agitated by that smug on his face, “it’s not that I can’t have any but I don’t care for boyfriends.”

  “And I can see why again!”

  “Oh really? Care to enlighten me?”

  “You don’t want anyone to lead you by the nose.”

  That was exactly right. But Sharon refused to admit. “It’s because I haven’t found any one who’s qualified to lead me by the nose.”

  He laughed heartily and said in a low and earnest voice that made her tremble again, “no one will ever be qualified for that.”

  They had been on water for nearly an hour when they approached Empress Island, the largest of the half dozen islands on the lake. Nobul told her that all of the islands were uninhabited but as a child he had frequently visited them with other boys, especially when they didn’t feel like going to school. They would catch fish and water snakes, shoot birds and steal bird eggs, and that sort of naughty things. His eyes beamed with a childish excitement as he told her about those experiences.

  Nobul got off the boat first and pulled it towards the land. After he docked the boat against a big rock, he held out his hand to Sharon. “Come on.”

  Sharon wanted to do it without his help but nearly lost her balance as the boat was swaying a bit under her weight. She thrust her hand into his in a panic and he pulled her to his side. Their body was inches away from each other. The warmth of his body permeated her skin in an instant and caused a turbulence in her body. She jerked away quickly, avoiding his eyes.

  The island was in a natural state with dense trees and shrubs. The went on a path that was barely perceptible in a distance.

  “Were you looking for bird’s nests yesterday? Your brother said you were in the Island.”

  “No, I’m too old for that.” He laughed. “I was working on a project.”

  “A project?”

  “Yes. We are innovating the Chief’s house.”

  “The Chief, your grandfather?”

  “Yes. He and his last wife, or the Empress, lived here before they were imprisoned by the communists. The government had just agreed to return us the proprietorship of the island.” He paused and added, “After getting lots of cash from us, of course.”