Proposal?

Why did this happen? What do they want? Where is my team?

These unanswered questions swirl around my mind as I kneel in front of them in a well-lit chamber with worn-down tall pillars that looked like a cheap knockoff of a mediaeval throne hall.

Blood soaked the ground beneath me, and this prickly dirt stings like needles every time I move my knees. Even in this dire situation, my stomach growled, indicating that it was dinner time.

"What do you want?" I asked one more time to the middle-aged guy in front of me, who sat on his gold-plated throne, typing on his smartphone.

He is the branch leader of a notorious group called 'Bad Beaver' which is one of the strongest groups in Siris City.

I gave my team a thorough warning not to cross paths with them on a bad note, because groups like these, enjoy picking on the weaker ones, and someday it might be us.

"Money?," I asked, but no reply came from him. None of these oddly silent hooligans around me want to answer either. They leaned on the pillars or chatted with each other, to me, it looked like even they were unsure of why they had brought me here.

The stout woman standing on his right is staring daggers at me, occasionally peeking at his smartphone, and ending up with a frustrated expression.

Just get done with it already. This suspense is killing me. I've been hauled here for an hour, but I still don't understand what they want from me. I hope my team is safe. If I am killed here, my only regret would be not having the chance to say goodbye to them.

"So... do you want to live?" The leader asked, finally handing his phone over to the stout woman.

"Yes sir." What kind of question is this? If I wanted to die, I wouldn't have waited until now.

"I ..." With just one sound out of his mouth, he turned to his right and started whispering something into her ear, and the woman whispered something back to him.

What the hell is going on?

"You have two options." The leader lifted his hand to show off his first two fingers. Patiently listening, I wait for him to complete the whole sentence, even though I know one of the options is death.

"One is, you can die meaninglessly here," he said, bending his index finger and straightening it back. "Or... you marry someone I choose, and you get to live."

"What?" This word involuntarily came out of my mouth, but not only from my mouth because I could hear it in my surroundings as well.

"Boss! "Did you say 'marry'?" A hooligan asked for confirmation.

"Marry, as in 'M A R R..."

"Yes! Marry!" The boss yelled aloud, silencing everyone at once.

He doesn't look like he is joking. Is this some new kind of thing? Wait a second... Oh No!

"To a woman, right?" I asked him doubtfully. If he says anything other than a "yes" then I may be more inclined towards the first option.

"Yes"

"Straight woman who identifies herself as a female, right?"

"Yes"

"Does she have any extra appendage down there?"

"Y." The leader stopped right after that letter and looked to his right.

"No!" The woman answered him instead of the leader.

Is she the one I am going to marry? She looks good and all...

"No!"

"But I haven't said anything yet." The woman appears to have read my mind. It was obvious, though. If not her, then who is the girl I have to marry? Someone among his hooligans?

I looked around, scanning for the girl among them. There were girls chewing gum, girls with dyed hair, girls who are cussing, blushing, kissing, and a few were making out behind the pillars.

As time passes, my heartbeat is growing louder. I don't know the exact reason yet.

"There she is..." The leader pointed his left thumb toward his back.

This very second, it blacked out.

They came! My team is here to rescue me! I knew it!

Is there going to be a blast to distract everyone? Or are they giving me any kind of signal? I don't see anything peculiar yet. What is it? What do I have to do? Should I run? But where? I am surrounded. All I see is nothing, and all I hear is their chatter.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see the curtains on the leader's left move a little.

Are they going straight for the leader? He is going to notice it, what are these girls doing?

But nothing happened. The leader sat in the same pose without doing anything.

A few seconds later, the curtains moved again, and this time a figure appeared.

A light-toned, tall, and slender woman with long, straight hair, wearing a simple yet breathtaking white gown. She immediately became the centre of everyone's attention, snatching away their voices and actions.

As if the stage was set for her, the only moonlight entering the room fell directly on her subtle looking skin.

Her blue eyes focused on me, and mine on her. A simple, charismatic smile spread across her face as if she were happy to see me, but I got goosebumps.

One thing is for sure now, no one is coming to save me. I guess my team has yet to find me, and even if they know I am here, it won't be easy to rescue me from here.

For some reason, I feel disappointed and nervous at the same time. My first impression of the woman in white gown, she is alluring with an otherworldly charm, yet something about her felt ominous, Maybe this silent situation is making me feel like this. But something is not right.

"She is the woman you have to marry." The leader pointed his thumb in her direction. The woman bowed to me but didn't utter a single word.

I decided to ask him the only worrying question about the woman, "Why her?" Using my hands, I stood up, lifting my aching knees from the ground.

"What do you mean?"

"No matter how you see her, she is a beauty. You would be doing a favour to the person you have her married to, unless.... There is something I don't know yet."

"You ask too many questions.," the leader said, rubbing his temples. "Just choose and get done with it. I am hungry, and the dinner's getting cold."

Die or marry a woman whom I don't even know. Yes, she looks beautiful and all that but I have someone too...

"I have girlfriends, by the way."

The leader looked surprised, and so did his right-hand woman, but the woman in the night gown looked unfazed by my declaration. This could be a way for her to get away from being married to me.

"Girlfriends? You have more than one?"

"Yes sir"

"Are you multi-timing?"

"No sir"

"Are they from your team? What was your team name again." Wrinkles appeared on his forehead as he tried to recall the name.

"Raging Fried Frog, and yes, they are my teammates." It's really embarrassing to say it aloud. Someone, please kill me.

Laughter erupted in the chamber, and tears welled up in their eyes. The leader laughed the loudest, stomping the ground and showing his yellow teeth. Everyone laughed except for the woman in the white gown, who had the same smile plastered on her face. Now, I feel like either she is deaf or a doll.

"What hella name is this?" "Is he for serious?" "Fried Frog? What the fck?Ahaahaha"

Okay, I got it. Now stop laughing. Anymore and I will cry. I looked down at my feet, hoping this died down quick.

"Silence.!"

Most shut their mouths with their hands, but I can still hear a few giggles.

"Give me a minute, I can't help it... Ahahaha." The leader laughed again, and the others followed him. This is just bullying now. He wouldn't have dared to laugh if I was the one sitting on his throne. I will make sure to remember it and pay it back to him with interest.

A moment of weakness on my knee, and I found myself on the edge of collapsing on to the ground. My knee bent involuntarily, dropping my whole body like a jenga but my drop was cut short when a pair of hands caught me before I reached the ground. The only thing I see now is a piece of white cloth that looked like the gown the woman wore.

I looked up at the woman, facing her; her blue eyes gleamed brighter in her own shade. She supported my weight without displaying any discomfort. Yanking me up onto my toes, the next thing I knew, her lips were moistening mine.

dafuq?