Temple of the Zodiac
Chapter 4: The Courtship of Cade and Ilde
After obtaining their first Caidoz piece, the four adventurers trekked out of their home town and into the forests. Such a long hike through the woods was not very pleasant for the Ham-Hams, especially since they were not used to this much exorcise. After four days of nonstop hiking, they were beginning to loose their nerve.
"Uh, if I have to walk another mile, I swear I'm going to die right here," said Pashmina who was sweating profusely.
"I agree, zee sun and zee humidity are not very pleasant, no?" said Bijou.
"I wish I had brought a sun hat," said Cappy, of course.
"Cappy, are you sure that clue told you that the next piece is here?" asked Penelope.
"That's what it said," insisted Cappy. "Here, I'll pull it out and show who you." Cappy opened up his back pack and pulled out a slip of paper with the clue written on it. Cappy read the clue out loud to the girls as he and the girls kept walking. "'One piece is hidden within a primitive tribe located in the middle of the Mori forest.' Now, I know for a fact that the Mori forest is right next to Rokugon and with my map, I've found out where the forest is."
"Does zee clue offer anymore information?" asked Bijou.
"It does mention that there is only one tribe in the entire forest," said Cappy. "Other than that, I'm not sure..." Cappy's words were cut short when all of a sudden, as he walked past some thick bushes, he found himself falling off the edge of a cliff he did not notice since he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Cappy cried out as he struck the side of the muddy hill and he found himself sliding down it.
"Oh non, Cappy," cried Bijou as she and the girls gathered around the edge of the cliff to see the fate of their hat wearing comrade. Fortunately for Cappy, the cliff was not a strait drop but it was slanted enough to allow Cappy to slide down the muddy slope of the cliff where he landed hard onto the mud located at the foot of the cliff.
"Oh non, zis eez bad," cried Bijou. "How will we save him?"
"I have an idea," said Penelope. She picked up a nearby leaf from the ground and said, "We'll toboggan down the cliff."
"Magnifique, zat's brilliant," said Bijou in praise.
"Everyone grab a leaf and lets dive," said Penelope enthusiastically. The three girls picked up a leaf and (using the leaf like a sled) they slid down the muddy cliff and landed softly onto the mud next to Cappy.
"Are you okay, Cappy?" asked Pashmina as the other girls landed onto the foot of the cliff. While the girls had remained clean, Cappy was covered from head to toe in mud.
"Aw man, I was trying so hard to keep myself clean," said Cappy. Cappy crawled out of the mud, dripping everywhere.
"Here, Cappy, you can dry yourself on zis," offered Bijou as she gave him her leaf. Cappy began to rub the mud off of him with the leaf and as he did, the Ham-Hams began to hear the loud voices of a crowd of ham-hams nearby.
"You hear that?" asked Penelope. "There are others here. We must have found the tribe."
"Magnifique, lets visit them," said Bijou.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," said Pashmina.
"Why do you say that?" asked Cappy.
"Well, doesn't that look familiar?" said Pashmina, pointing at the large wooden structure in front of them. The Ham-Hams had noticed the structure before (out of the corner of their eyes) but they didn't pay much attention to it until now and once the girls got a good look at it, they began to panic in fright.
Four years ago, Spat had kidnapped the girls and then gave them to a barbaric tribe who took them to a stadium and was about to sacrifice them by feeding them to a hungry cat. The large wooden stadium where they were about to become cat food stood right there in front of them which means that the tribe they were looking for was the same tribe who tried to kill the girls.
"Zis cannot be," cried Bijou.
"No way, I don't want to go through that again," cried Penelope. The girls were shaking with fright, too afraid to walk any closer to that stadium.
"I known we're afraid but the whole world depends on us getting those Caidoz pieces," pointed out Pashmina.
"She's right, we have to be strong," said Cappy. Despite the bravery they had felt before, they now were filled with fright at the possibility of being fed to a cat again. Bijou shook in fright as she remembered the sensation of that cat licking her chest to taste her. Bijou knew that if Boss hadn't had saved her at that moment, she would have been the first to become cat food.
"Okay, so we proceed to infiltrate them but the question is, how do we do it?" asked Cappy.
"I know," said Pashmina excitedly. She ran over to a nearby bush located next to the stadium, repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as she ran. She picked some small leaves from the bush and walked back with the leaves in her paws.
"What are you doing?" asked Bijou.
"I remembered that these people like to wear masks so if we put these on our faces, we can sneak in undetected," said Pashmina.
"I don't know about this," said Cappy who was convinced.
"Oh come on, Cappy," said Penelope. "Lets just give it a try." The Ham-Hams poked holes in their leaves so they can see and breath through them and then they tried to tie the leaves to their faces like a bandana wrapped around their face. Once their leaves were put on, they looked at each other to see how they looked.
"We look ridiculous," said Pashmina.
"Well, it was your idea," pointed out Cappy. "Now that we are in our disguises, lets infiltrate the enemy." Cappy began walking towards the sound of crowd with the girls following reluctantly behind.
They managed to find a crowd of ham-hams located just out of view from the stadium, many of them dressed in loin cloths and hideous masks. The ham-hams were standing around a stage where a large pile of haphazardly placed items sat. Bijou led the way as she and her friends pushed their way through the crowd who were talking anxiously amongst themselves as if they were excited about something. As Bijou got closer to the stage, she saw something gold in the pile. She squinted her eyes so she could see the gold object in the distance and to her surprise, it was a Caidoz piece.
"Heke, zere's a Caidoz piece up zere," said Bijou.
"Are you sure?" asked Cappy.
"Positive," said Bijou. "Zee only question now eez, how to get eet?"
Suddenly, there was a loud cheer from the crowd as two ham-hams stepped onto the stage. One of the two (which the Ham-Girls had immediately recognized) was the tribe's chief. The chief had light brown fur all over his body and he wore ferret skin as a vest and a loin cloth. He also wore a large feathered crown on his head and a mask that looked like a skull face. The ham-ham standing next to him was covered in light orange fur (with a white front) and he has a simple brown vest for clothing. This ham-ham looked nervous, as if he was experiencing stage fright from being the center of attention on that stage. The chief raised his paws to show that he wants the crowd to be quiet.
"Hello, my fellow tribe-hams," said the chief. "I, Chief Wong, is pleased to announce that my son, Cade, has finally grown old enough to marry." There was some applause from the crowd. The ham-ham standing on stage next to Chief Wong (obviously the chief's son, Cade) didn't look very comfortable about the applause.
"I would like to thank all of you who had given my son wedding gifts," said Chief Wong as he pointed towards the pile of gifts. "You all have delivered excellent gifts for my son. The bride has not yet been selected yet but in the next few days, I will select the perfect bride for Cade. Who among you are willing to be my son's wife?" Every female in the crowd were raising their paws anxiously, hoping to be picked to be Cade's wife. The chief observed all the willing participants in the crowd when suddenly, he noticed the Ham-Hams amongst the crowd. Immediately, he realized those four didn't look familiar, especially with those leaves on their faces.
"You four," said Chief Wong as he pointed at the Ham-Hams. "Come onto the stage."
"Who? Us?" said Penelope nervously.
"Yes you, I order you four onto the stage," said Chief Wong more sternly. Nervous as to what might happen, the Ham-Hams worked their way through the crowd and onto the stage.
The Ham-Hams nervously stepped up onto the stage and faced Chief Wong. Bijou stood the closest to him so the chief said ot her, "Who are you?"
"I'm..." Bijou hesitated, not sure as to what to say.
"And why have I never seen you before?" asked Chief Wong before Bijou could answer.
"Well, zis eez zee first time I've worn a leave," said Bijou. She gasped in horror as she just realized she had forgotten to hide her accent. When Chief Wong heard that authentic french accent, he knew that she couldn't have been from their tribe. Chief Wong immediately ripped the mask off of Bijou, exposing her terrified face.
"Guards, seize them," ordered Chief Wong. Immediately, at least a dozen guards climbed onto the stage with long wooden spears pointing at the Ham-Hams. The Ham-Hams' masks were removed and they were in being held captive.
"Take them to the chopping block, I want them decapitated," ordered Chief Wong. Pashmina gasped in horror. They were going to be executed.
The guards began to tie the Ham-Hams' paws behind their backs. Bijou began to panic as one guard attempted to tie her paws.
"Non, please," begged Bijou. "We'll do anything." But the guards were unfazed by Bijou's pleas. "I'll...I'll...I'll marry your son eef you let us go." Everyone stopped in place in shock. Even Bijou's companions froze in place with their mouths wide open. Chief Wong stared at Bijou through his mask and said, "You'll marry my son?"
"Oui," said Bijou. "Eef you let my friends go safely, I'll marry your son. Please, I can be a good wife to your son." Curious, Chief Wong began examine Bijou. He placed his paws behind his back and began to slowly circle around Bijou, examine her like a hawk. Bijou began to feel uncomfortable about how he was staring at her like that.
After circling her twice, Chief Wong stopped pacing, standing right in front of Bijou.
"You're certainly a very beautiful ham-ham," said Chief Wong. "And a very attractive one as well. You also have a good strong body. Perfect for baring offspring." Bijou cringed at the thought. "Very well, you shall be my son's husband and in exchange, I will let your friends go free. However, in order to make sure that you will keep to your word, your friends shall be locked in a cell until the wedding is over. While the wedding is being set up, you shall be accompanied to my son's bedroom so you can get to know him better." Pashmina leaned over to Bijou's ear and asked, "Okay, you do have a plan, right?"
"I'm working on eet," answered Bijou. Bijou watched as her friends were led away from her by the guards. Chief Wong turned to Cade and said, "Cade, take her to your room."
"Yes, father," said Cade. Cade took Bijou by the paw and led her off the stage with Bijou following reluctantly along side him.
Bijou was led through the village, passing many small huts along the way.
"So where do you live?" asked Bijou curiously. "Are we staying in a little hut like these."
"Oh no," said Cade. "I live in a much more larger home." Cade led Bijou to a bush. She gasped in surprise when she noticed that the bush had a large house built right into it like a tree house.
"Zis eez where you live?" asked Bijou.
"Sure is," said Cade. "Come, I'll show you inside." Cade's bedroom was inside the tree house (or bush house) and using a simple rope ladder, Bijou climbed up inside it. There was a hole in the floor of the house allowing access or exit to the crude structure. Upon entering the little house, Bijou was amazed at the interior which was made entirely out of plain wood. Inside, there was a large mat on the floor (obviously used as a bed), a box filled with some personal items in it, and a closet.
Cade climbed up out of the hole in the floor and said, "Well, this is where I live. I know it doesn't look like much but together, I'm sure we can improve upon it."
"I'm sure we can," said Bijou. "By zee way, my name eez 'Bijou.'"
"That's a beautiful name," said Cade, although he didn't sound too happy about it. Cade sat down on his bed and sighed sadly, revealing to Bijou that he was as reluctant to go through with this arranged marriage as much as Bijou was. Bijou sat down on the mat next to him.
"You know, to be honest, I don't want to marry you," admitted Cade. "Don't get me wrong. I think you're cute and very pretty but I have my heart set on someone else."
"You do?" asked Bijou. "Who eez she?" Cade nervously began to rub his head, saying "Schmubby-Wubby" as he did. Clearly a little embarrassed about the subject.
"I can show you," said Cade. Cade stood up off of his mat and led Bijou to the window. From within the house, Bijou had a decent view of the area, enabling her to see much of the village and the ham-hams below.
"That's her, the one in the brown muumuu," said Cade as he pointed to the right. Almost strait down, Bijou saw a group of girls standing around and talking to each other, possibly about girl gossip. Amongst the girls there, Bijou saw a ham-ham who wore a light colored brown muumuu. The ham-ham had orange-red fur with white on her front and face. Cade stared down upon her with a wide smile on his face.
"What's her name?" asked Bijou.
"Her name is Ilde," answered Cade. "I've had a crush on her ever since I was a kid. I've always wanted to tell her how much I love her but I've never had the chance to do so. Not to mention my father might not approve of me marrying her. I just wish I could marry her." Cade sighed sadly, admiring the love of his life from his bedroom window.
Bijou couldn't help but feel sorry for Cade. All he wanted was to marry Ilde and he just couldn't work the nerve to ask her. Bijou had to find some way to help him but she also still had to rescue her friends and obtain the Caidoz piece. The only way Cade and Ilde are ever going to be together is that Cade must tell her how much he loves her and he has to some how convince his father. As Bijou gazed out upon the view from the window, she noticed a nearby ledge, no more than 1.5 feet off the ground and over looking the land below. The ledge stretched for about ten feet and was covered in a few plants and trees.
"Cade, eez zere anyway of getting onto zee ledge over zere?" asked Bijou.
"Why yes," said Cade, unsure as to why she asked. "There's a trail that leads over the cliff, enabling a safe passage."
"And Cade, eez zere any kind of an important tool or item used in zee marriage ceremonies of your people?" asked Bijou.
"There is the bonding rope," said Cade. "During the marriage ceremony, both the bride and groom use a ceremonial rope to tie their paws together as a symbol for their eternal binding vows to each other. Why do you want to know all this?"
"Cade, I have an idea zat will get you and Ilde together," said Bijou.
"Really?" said Cade in surprise. "How?"
"First, you must do something for me, then I'll help you," said Bijou.
Everyone in the village was busy preparing for the wedding. Since everyone was so distracted with their preparations for the wedding, no one noticed Bijou heading in the direction of the cell (where her friends were kept) with two large sacks in her paws. As Bijou walked towards the cell (repeating "Ticky-Ticky as she walked), she recognized it as the same cell she and the other girls were kept in the last time they were here four years ago. The cell was a small square building made out of stone and concrete. The windows were thin and small and the only way in or out of the cell was a large steel door where two guards stood guard. The guards each held a spear in one paw and they wore a loin cloth with a strange mask on their faces. The masks resembled some kind of an oriental dragon face and the masks were green in color. As Bijou approached the cell, the two guards raised their spears and pointed them at Bijou in a threatening fashion.
"Halt, what are you doing here?" demanded one of the guards.
"I want to give my friends some sun flower seeds," said Bijou, holding up the bags to indicate where the seeds were. "I want zem to be well fed while zey are in zere." The two guards paused as they considered her statement.
"Okay, but don't take too long," said the other guard as the two guards stepped aside.
"Merci," said Bijou. The guards unlocked the cell and aloud Bijou inside. Once Bijou went inside, they closed the door. After that, there was silence for a moment until they heard Bijou shouting, "Help, zey are attack me." Concerned, the two guards ran into the cell, unknowing that Pashmina and Penelope were standing on both sides of the door holding Bijou's sacks. When the guards came in, Pashmina and Penelope struck the guards on the head with the sacks, knocking them out cold.
"That was a clever idea, Bijou," said Cappy.
"Yeah, and what's in these bags anyway?" asked Pashmina.
"Just some rocks I've collected," said Bijou.
"Good idea, Bijou," said Penelope. "Now lets get out of here."
"Not yet," said Bijou. "First, we got to help Cade." Bijou explained to her friends Cade's situation and her plan to help him.
"Oh, poor Cade," said Pashmina after hearing Bijou's story. "Of course we'll help."
"Good, I want you two to impersonate zee guards until eet eez time to put my plan into action," said Bijou. "I'll be back while you guys stay here, got eet?"
"Got it," chorused Bijou's friends. Bijou ran out of the cell without another word, repeating "Badda-Badda" as she ran. The two guards were bound and gagged with rope and left in the cell with Cappy watching them. Penelope and Pashmina took the guards' masks and loin cloths and then they stood outside the cell, impersonating the guards so no one would realize something was wrong.
Cade waited for Bijou behind the bush where his house was located. He heard Bijou running around the bush and stopping right in front of Cade.
"What took you so long?" asked Cade.
"Sorry, I had to free my friends," answered Bijou. "Did you get what I asked for?"
"Yes, I did," said Cade. From a small brown bag, Cade pulled out the Caidoz piece which he had earlier found in the pile of wedding gifts. Bijou took the piece and put it into her back pack.
"Are you sure about this, Bijou?" asked Cade. "My father is going to be done setting up the wedding in about two hours."
"Don't worry," said Bijou with a smile. "We got everything under control."
Cade became very nervous as the time of the marriage ceremony had arrived. He hoped that Bijou would start the plan before hand but as they were led to the stage where the ceremony was taking place, he was close to shear panic. Everyone in the tribe gathered around as Bijou and Cade stood in front of Chief Wong who was going to be their minister. Nervously, Cade leaned over to Bijou and asked, "I thought you were going to get me out of this wedding."
"Be patient," was Bijou's only response. Chief Wong lifted his paws in the air and shouted to the crowd, "Welcome friends. Today, we bind Cade and Bijou in the bonds of marriage. To symbolize their marriage to each other, I present the ceremonial rope which shell bind their paws together as a symbol of their devotion to each other." Chief Wong pulled out a long wooden box and opened it but to his and everyone else's (except Bijou's) surprise, the ceremonial rope that was supposed to be in the box was gone.
"Heke?" said Chief Wong in surprise. "Where's the rope."
"Hey, over here," cried a voice from behind. The Chief spun around and realized the voice came from Pashmina who held the rope and waved it tauntingly. "Looking for this?" Penelope and Cappy stood nearby, also taunting the chief.
"How'd they get out?" demanded Chief Wong. "Guards, seize them." The Ham-Hams immediately ran for it. Six guards picked up their spears and chased after the three fugitive Ham-Hams as Chief Wong picked up his own spear and followed. Once they were gone, Bijou grabbed Cade's paw and said, "Follow me." Cade more than willingly followed, the two of them repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran.
Bijou led Cade through the village until they stopped right in front of the ledge Bijou saw earlier through the window in Cade's house. To Cade's surprise, Ilde was standing right there next to the bottom of the ledge just outside Cade's home. Cade and Bijou stopped right beside the bush just out of view and the two stared at Ilde from behind the bush.
"Ilde?" said Cade in surprise. "What's she doing here?"
"I told her I was going to delay zee wedding so you can talk to her," explained Bijou.
"You mean I have to tell her I love her right now?" said Cade in shock.
"Oui," said Bijou. "Now's your chance and eef you don't tell her, you may never get another chance and you would have lost her forever." Knowing that she was right, Cade swallowed nervously as he walked towards Ilde, repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as he walked. Ilde smiled at Cade as he came towards her.
"Hamha, Cade," greeted Ilde kindly.
"Hamha," replied Cade nervously.
"Cade, why do you sound so nervous?" asked Ilde.
"Well, it's because I have something to tell you," said Cade.
Meanwhile, Chief Wong was running along the overhead ledge, repeating "Badda-Badda" as he ran. He saw the Ham-Hams run up here and he was running aimlessly through all the plants that grew along the top of the ledge. Along the way, he saw the ceremonial rope that was left behind by the Ham-Hams and the rope laid there on the edge of the ledge. Chief Wong ran over to the rope and picked it up and as he did, he saw Cade and Ilde standing below talking. Spying from behind the bush, Bijou watched Chief Wong's approach with a smile as her plan began to proceed normally. Bijou turned her gaze quickly back to Cade, hoping he will have the nerve to tell Ilde.
Cade swallowed hard as he gathered as much courage as he could muster.
"The fact is, I don't want to marry Bijou, I want to marry you," said Cade to Ilde.
"You do?" asked Ilde in surprise.
"Yes," said Cade as he began to blush. "I've loved you ever since I first saw you but I've never had the courage to tell you. You're my one true love. It is you I want to marry and no one else."
"Oh Cade, that's so sweet," said Ilde. "I had no idea you felt that way."
"So will you?" asked Cade eagerly. When Ilde didn't answer right away, Cade began to suspect he had said or done something wrong. In order to spare himself from more embarrassment, he added, "Unless of course you don't want to. I know this may seem rather sudden and I can understand if you don't want to."
"Oh Cade, I would love to be your bride," said Ilde. Cade looked like you could knock him over with a feather.
"You mean it?" asked Cade.
"I wouldn't lie to you," said Ilde. "All my life, I've waited for someone to come up to me and say 'I love you' and now that has finally happened. If you love me that much, then perhaps we were meant to be together."
"So you'll marry me?" said Cade with joy.
"Yes, I will," said Ilde as she wrapped her arms around Cade in a hug. Cade returned the hug and the two affectionately nuzzled each other, repeating "Schmubby-Wubby" as they did.
"I had no idea you felt that way," said Chief Wong from on top of the ledge. Ilde and Cade immediately separated in shock.
"Dad, how long have you been standing up there?" asked Cade in embarrassment.
"Long enough to listen in on your conversation," said Chief Wong. Chief Wong shouted "Oopaa" as he leaped off the ledge and landed onto his feet right next to Cade.
"So this is really where your heart lies?" asked Chief Wong to Cade.
"Yes father, this is the women I want to be my wife," said Cade. Chief Wong turned his gaze towards Ilde.
"And you, Ilde, can you be a good wife to my son?" asked Chief Wong.
"Yes, I will be a good wife to Cade and a loving mother to his children," said Ilde.
"Then I shall give Cade permission to marry you," said Chief Wong. Ilde and Cade hugged each other with joy. "I shall meet you two at the ceremony so we can have your wedding."
"Yes, Father," said Cade. Chief Wong turned around and then walked off. As soon as he was gone, Bijou came out of hiding and Cade said to her, "Bijou, I just want to say 'thanks' for everything."
"You're welcome," said Bijou. "I wish you both a happy life together."
"We will," said Ilde. "Can you stay for the wedding?"
"I'm afraid I must be going," said Bijou. "I have to find my friends. Au revoir, Cade and Ilde." Bijou waved "good-bye" as she walked off.
"Bye-Q," said Cade to Bijou. Once Bijou was gone, Cade and Ilde walked to their wedding holding each other's paw.
Bijou managed to find her friends waiting for her in the forest. They were waiting anxiously for any news.
"Well, did it work?" asked Pashmina anxiously as Bijou walked up to her.
"Yep, Cade and Ilde are having zeir wedding even as we speak," said Bijou.
"Oh, that's so wonderful," said Penelope. "I wish we can stay for the wedding."
"Me too but we have to go before they find us here," said Cappy.
"Before we go, I need to do something," said Bijou. Bijou reached into her back pack and pulled out the Caidoz piece she had obtained from Cade. Bijou placed her paw on the piece and said, "I am the sun, I am the moon. I am the clear blue sea. A gift from the stars, a gift to all. May this piece show it's sign to me." Instantly, the piece began to glow a silver colored light which lit up the area in it's silver glow. As the piece glowed, a silver colored symbol engraved itself onto the Caidoz piece. The Caidoz piece stopped glowing but the symbol still glowed a silver glow. The symbol looked like two round circles with tails that trailed behind them as if they were chasing each other in a circle. This was Bijou's zodiac sign: Cancer.
"Look you guys, I did eet," said Bijou.
"Good because we better get out of here because Chief Wong's guards might have seen the bright light from the Caidoz piece," pointed out Pashmina
"Oh my," said Bijou in shock as she realized her mistake. Bijou placed the Caidoz piece into the backpack and ran off with her friends along the long journey home.
