Alex empathized with Xichen’s situation, understanding that she was on a time crunch. He glanced around the place, eyeing the few men and women that were guarding him. They had their fists clenched, stopping themselves from seemingly trembling in rage.
That rage wasn’t something they could fake. Even if the chief’s daughter was somehow making it seem worse than it was, it was still a bad situation for her. The two men, named Tailun and Fangmi, were certainly vying for her hand to become the chief of her tribe.
“That’s why my father has imprisoned you,” she said. “My only option now is the Elixir that you have, for me to grow strong enough to become an Extolite.”
“I’m sorry, young lady, but I do not have any elixir. Please think about it for a moment. If I had that elixir, I would’ve used it already. I wouldn’t have been weak enough to be captured by you lot.”
Xichen seemed to be thinking the same thing, but she didn’t voice it out loud.
“Aren’t there other ways to get out of this situation though? Do you have to be an Extolite?” Alex asked.
“We’ve exhausted every option. The reason for our hurry is because there are no other options.”
Alex thought for a moment. He thought of several possibilities, trying to understand why they were not possible.
“Just to be clear, there are no other Extolites that have shown interest in having your hand in marriage, have they?” Alex asked. “Maybe one option would be to marry someone not associated with either of those tribes to get yourself out of this situation.”
Xichen shook her head. “It’s not so simple to become an Extolite. You need a considerable amount of resources, so not everyone can do it. One has to prove themselves very highly to their tribe to be considered for an Extolite ceremony.”
“And there are none in this city?” Alex asked.
“None a bachelor,” she said. “Everyone is married already. There hasn’t been an Extolite in the past five years after all.”
Alex nodded. “And what if you were to just give up on your right to become the next chief? Simply disclaim your right to the title.”
“The chief’s children become the next chief. That is the law of this land. It is something that has happened for many years. We cannot simply change the tradition just because we want to.”
“Why can’t you?” Alex asked. “Traditions shouldn’t be followed when they only stand to hurt your future.”
“No,” Xichen said. “I won’t disclaim my right of being the next chief. Not to mention, even if I were to do that, the one who marries me can simply claim that I did not mean what I said and swoop in to become the chief.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t thought of that. Her existence as the chief’s daughter was a ticket for her husband to become the next chief. And if he were an Extolite, he would likely have the authority over her to make the decisions for her tribe.
“Are you the oldest child?” Alex asked. “Do you have other siblings?”
“I’m the only child,” she said, understanding Alex’s thought process. “My father lost the ability to have children after he had me. I have no siblings to share this burden with. That is why my father is plagued all day. Why he needs me to become the next Extolite, however that may be.”
Her words were clear enough for Alex.
“So even if there is the smallest chance that I have the Elixir, he will keep me imprisoned, won’t he?”
He supposed he should have known that by now.
“Tell me,” Alex asked. “Between the two men you mentioned, who is more likely to become an Extolite first?”
“I do not know,” Xichen said. “Both of them are close enough to becoming one. Their threat at first was me becoming an Extolite before them, but after I’ve failed twice now, they are more likely to wait around longer to thoroughly prepare for their own turn.”
Alex raised his eyebrows. “So you do have the time to become an Extolite.”
“A very short time, yes. But as I am now, I will definitely fail again. I cannot have so many days wasted for so many warriors, just to search for a beast that I could fight.”
“Does it take long?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “They have to go in groups and find a beast that has escaped the inner regions. It is not only time-consuming, but also very dangerous.”
“I see…” he said. “Your chances don’t seem that good. In the worst-case scenario, who would you want to win between the two?”
“Neither,” she snapped. “Fangmi only wants my hand since his Stoneclaws and our Sunwardens are right next to each other, so he wants to grow it all into one large tribe. As for Tailun, if the Grayhounds were to acquire Sunwardens, they could squeeze the Stoneclaws in the center and slowly drive them out. I suppose in terms of benefits, Tailun would get the most from marrying me.”
“So he is the one with more to lose, huh?” Alex said.
The woman nodded. “That is why I assumed you had been sent by Tailun right away. He is the one who would gain more by sabotaging my ceremony.”
Alex continued nodding, trying to come up with a solution to this impossible situation. But it just seemed impossible.
“I want to help you, but I don’t know how much help I can be from within this prison. Could you maybe let me out?” he asked.
The moment Alex asked as much, the half a dozen guards around the prison spoke at once — in no unison at all — each one telling Xichen how bad of an idea that was.
“Stop! I know,” Xichen said, turning toward Alex.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot do it,” she said. “My father is the only one with the authority to turn off the barrier.”
Alex sighed in disappointment.
“But…” she said. “I will talk to my father and see if I can get him to agree.”