Waiting for Prince Chahaya to come back, Ara is moving back and forth as she is so nervous and restless.
Her minds wandered from her brooch to the sapphire necklace and to Prince Chahaya's handkerchief. She sighs and bends down as she decided that it is better to continue working rather than being made crazy by her own thoughts.
She keeps on cleaning and transferring the dirty water back to the bucket. For a while, her thought do not wonder. However, as soon as she manages to calm down, the door swings open.
Prince Chahaya walks in with a bowl of food. He quickly closes the door behind to make sure that nobody sees them together and misunderstands.
"I told you to stop cleaning, didn't I?"he said.
"Yes, Your Majesty. But it is my job." Ara said while avoiding eye contact with the prince.
"I brought you some food. Wipe your hand and sit down." The Prince orders Ara as if ordering a child to behave.
Ara drops her rag beside the bucket and wipes her hand with the Prince's handkerchief. She feels guilty that the nice silk handkerchief is now dirty.
Quietly, Ara walks toward the Prince and takes the bowl from him. Inside the bowl, she sees oxtail soup with rice. The combination of color between the meat, the potatoes, and the carrots make the food looks very appetizing.
Ara peeks at Prince Chahaya, asking for permission to eat. Prince Chahaya, noticing that Ara was seeking for approval, nods his head.
Ara begins to dig in. The warmth of the soup is soothing. It partially helps with the tension and nerves that Ara has been having.
In no time, she empties the bowl, leaving only some bones. Not even a drop of soup is left.
"Uhm..Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I don't know how to repay you," she said.
"I don't know how you can repay me either," he said.
Ara's mouth opens wide in shock at his response.
'In a context like this, one should say "no problem" or "you're welcome",' she thought.
Prince Chahaya laughs.
"I am just kidding. Boy! You should have seen your face!"
He then takes the bowl out of Ara's hands.
"I will bring this back so nobody suspects anything."
Without saying anything else, the prince walks out of the door, leaving Ara alone.
The coldness of the study room suddenly creeps back in.
'It's weird that I did not notice this before. Prince Chahaya brings warmth to this soulless room. He is so different from his older brother.' she thought.
Realizing that she does not have time to idle around, Ara gets back to work.
Little did she notice that the sapphire necklace is gone from that room.
After returning the bowl back to the dining hall, Prince Chahaya walks to his room.
Along the way, he cannot stop thinking. His right hand is in his pockets, feeling the sapphire necklace in it. As soon as he enters his room, he takes out the sapphire necklace from his pocket and traces its details.
His memory is a bit blurry. But he remembers a lady that used to own that necklace. That lady is no other than Intan's mother, Lady Nilakandi. NIlakandi itself means "sapphire" in Indonesian language.
"But why is that necklace there instead of Intan's room? And why does Ara have a brooch that is so similar to this necklace?"
***