Wherever, whenever, or whatever it may be, Tala didn't want to part from him, "Maki, come with us. This is the highlight of our plans. You should hear what we are going to talk about." She said to him and gestured Achis to follow her.
The three of them walk together onto the kubo or small hut that Tala had rented upon arriving at the puod. This was where she held meetings and alliances of the powerful high-ranking officials who came to the celebration of the five days birthday of Rajah.
"Do you agree on joining forces with Datu Achis?" As soon as they entered the hut Tala asked the young Datu.
"Tell me your plan." He uttered.
"It's very simple, I know that you are harnessing your warriors' ability to fight. You are preparing to raid banwa's aren't you?"
"Get straight to the point, Bai."
"Datu Pita has been slacking on training his army. Although they are still strong, they are not as powerful as before. With your manpower and some of my trained warriors we could easily defeat them."
"You want to do a sneak attack?" Achis raised his brow as he assimilated her notion of rebellion Datu Pita. Surely, he has no experience in fighting on the battlefield. When it comes to raiding territories but he had learned it manually. And he is confident of winning if he does the brawling head-on.
"Yes, we will infiltrate on the banwa and assassinate him without his knowledge. Of course, if we passed on the guards outside the balay noiselessly." She muttered and walked to the center table. Then, she sat on the futon comfortably and took a piece of grapes that was served on the table.
"You hate your father that much," Achis commented. Tala just sneers hearing his remark. She pointed to the futon in front of her to tell him to sit too.
"In ten days after this, we will have our rebellion. In the meantime, I have to attain my goal in this puod. I will send you a messenger for us to have a meeting before the day of the attack." Tala said to give him a mini-chest box.
"What's this?" He took it and examined the other appearance of the box. It is made of red polished wood with a touch of gold on its corners. He was amazed by the detailed carved and thought that Yanarym would like this as her container of jewelry.
"Let's say that this is our symbol of alliance." Achis opened the mini- chest box and saw a shimmering set of gold and silver bracelets and necklaces. "And my advance congratulatory gift for your wife."
Achis smiled at Tala accepting her gift of the alliance. "She will love this."
"I'm glad to hear that," Maki who was leaning on the wall at the corner heard the conversation and subconsciously clenched his fist tightly.
Wife, she said. If she only knew who the woman was under those thick veils. Tala will not be blessing the marriage between the young Datu and its announced bride. Maki laughed in his mind with no humor as he felt bitter, discerning the flattered face of Achis.
"Anyway, I will have my warriors be prepared when I come home to my banwa. If you plan to do it fast and quietly, I will train them to do it like that."
"That's great." Tala clasped her hands in exhilaration. As she thought, Achis' cooperation would give her more probability of victory. Though she was not sure what was the variable that caused him to decline her offer at first then accept it later.
Regardless, because he is her ally, anything else does not matter.
"After we won and killed your Baba, how would we divide our share?" Achis headed to the main point of why he agrees with this proposition.
"As I told you, I won't be getting anything from that raid. You can have it all, the island, the people, the treasures, everything." Tala muttered nonchalantly, nodding his head heeding her statement.
"If you say so, also, I don't want you to step on the island again or any of your people." There he laid his only condition.
Tala lifted the side of her lips looking surprised at his requirement upon agreeing to this alliance. Cutting off their formed union as soon as the battle is over?
"Oh… don't be stingy." She giggled and picked one grape on its stem and played it on her fingers. "Would you end our newly made friendship when we triumph the rebellion?"
"That is my only condition." Instead of answering her query, Achis responded to her in a grim tone.
Clearly, all he wanted was the island itself. Although she was curious why he chose to exile her and her people from that place, she was not that inclined. She'll just let it pass as it won't affect her plans.
"Why is that? Are you trying to hide something from Datu Achis? Is there something you don't want us to discover?" Maki intercepted enigmatically, Tala and Achis shifted their eyes on him. He was tranquil the entire time that they had forgotten he was with them in the kubo.
Achis congested for a moment, suspecting the warrior with Datu Pita's second daughter was attempting to speak as if he knew something he ought not. Is he simply attempting to catch him off guard, or is he mindful of the existence of the first daughter? Is there a reason he shouldn't tell his master if he appears to know? Tala was apparently oblivious to what he was saying.
"What is to hide? I'm just making sure that when it is settled everything is mine alone." Maki smirked his lips to hide the furor that he's undergoing gawking at this young Datu.
Maki certainly knew what Achis scheming was. He decided to be the sole owner of Bai Yanar. Killing Datu Pita, taking control of the entire island, and refusing to let them into his territory once the insurgency was over.