“He is not of the blood of Wakea, and Papa, my child, he is not descended from the gods.”
“Yet he is a mighty konohiki, father, a great noble, the greatest of your vassals, and of all the men in the land his blood is next to our own. Besides, he is young and handsome and strong, first in the games and bravest in war, and his spearmen won the bloody battle that made you The Mighty.”
“Yes, Hiwa, he is all you say, and I love him better than I love your drunken brother; but he is not of the blood of the gods. You must marry Ii.”
Then, because Papaakahi’s word was the law of the land, which not even Hiwa could question, and because she loathed marriage to her brother, and loved Kaanaana more than her own life, she went away by herself and wept bitterly. She spent many days in solitary places, weeping and longing to die.
Papaakahi cared little for his drunken son Ii, and loved Hiwa as the apple of his eye, and when he saw how she grieved, his heart was heavy; but his purpose remained fixed. So he went to her and spoke gently and said, “If you marry Kaanaana it will bring civil war and your death.”
“Father, why civil war?”
“Because I am old and must soon be hidden in a cave, and your first-born son would come before any child of your brother’s as heir to the kingdom. You know our law; the child takes the rank of its mother, instead of the rank of its father, for all men know its mother and no man knows its father. You yourself take divine rank from your mother, who was my sister.”
Hiwa shuddered, and made no reply.
“Your brother,” continued Papaakahi, “spends his nights drinking awa, and his days in sleep. He will rule in name only. Your uncle will be the real moi. He hates Kaanaana, and, if you marry him and have an heir, he will raise the standard of revolt as soon as I am dead.”
“Then let spears settle it!” cried Hiwa, with flashing eyes. “I do not fear death, and I love Kaanaana. I will fight by his side, and we will slay Aa and his army, for the spearmen of Kohala will follow where Kaanaana leads, and he is greatest of the warriors, and I am daughter of the gods.”