Name
Jerastus 13, 2196
________________

GEORGIA
Georgia Kaye Alas

Friday. After going back to the Celeste Kingdom, Lucifuge has decided for us to go somewhere at Friday night, though hindi lubos na lumubog ang araw. Hindi niya na raw kasi maaaring gamitin ang 'special powers' niya bilang Crown Prince para i-excuse kami ulit sa klase dahil maaaring magtaka na raw ang mga kataas-taasan kung ba't lagi kaming binibitbit ni Lucifuge.

I still had so many questions for the Phantoms, but I'm saving the list when I meet Lowell's father, Valdemior. Speaking of them, they didn't wait long outside the Adrius mansion since it seemed like the time inside the dreams was longer but short in reality. Ayaw na rin silang isama ni Lucifuge sa pupuntahan namin ngunit hindi pumayag ang tatlo, Jax, Lowell, and Aeryn.

Now, here we are, meeting up outside the Academy near the forests where the snow falls heavily. Napasinghap nalang din ako nang biglang may pumatong sa'kin na coat galing kay Lucifuge. He put it on my shoulder nonchalantly, so I just accepted it too without hesitations.

Hinayaan ko nalang din siyang ayusin ang pagkakalagay no'n sa balikat ko, at tanggalin ang ilang nyebe sa ulo ko. I'm certainly feeling the heat now. I'm actually surprised to how gentle he has become after visiting Merhey, but at the same time, I can feel a distance, a wall between us.

"We're just waiting for Aeryn, right?" He asked as he removed his hand from me.

Mukhang nag-aalala na rin si Jax at pabalik-balik ang tingin sa kaniyang relo, habang si Lowell ay nakatingin sa kawalan. Wala sa sarili rin akong napatingin sa direksyon ng tingin ni Lowell at napansin na mayroong pulang paru-parong umiikot sa isang puno. There are also golden flickers, like flames, around it.

Bumaba ang paru-paro kay Lowell at nang tuluyan 'yong dumapo sa kamay niya, naalintana kami. The butterfly turned to Aeryn— no, it's not really her but somehow her figure.

Lucifuge cleared his throat before stabbing the figure with his darkness, causing it to fade away and return back into a butterfly. "Those are the forest's illusions. They say the butterflies carry memories or perhaps even the soul of a person."

"Huh? Ano'ng sinasabi mong soul?" Natarantang tanong ni Jax habang halata sa boses ang kaba't taka. Sa palagay ko'y akala niyang naging kaluluwa na si Aeryn kung kaya't nagpakita siya bilang paru-paro. I'm sure that's not the case because Lucifuge wouldn't have acted like that.

"Chill, Jax. Hindi si Aeryn 'yon. That soul butterfly must have been a shapeshifter or an illusionist, then it used its power to scare us," Lucifuge assured.

Napalingon naman kami nang marinig ang boses ni Aeryn sa likod. She must have heard and witnessed what had happened, since she asked. "Sa'n mo naman napulot ang impormasyon na 'yan, Fuge? Aren't butterflies just butterflies?"

I was surprised to see her in a casual outfit. She wore a pastel pink velvet shirt that emphasized her pinkish eyes. Kulay puti rin ang jeans na kaniyang suot, kaya tila ba may diwata kaming nakasama. Despite the simplicity, she exuded an aura of royalty.

Mukha namang nabunutan ng tinik sa lalamunan si Jax at Lowell nang makita si Aeryn dahil pansin ang pagluwag ng hininga nila. Lucifuge chuckled and beckoned Aeryn to come closer. Napaatras naman ako nang ipulupot ni Aeryn ang kamay niya sa'kin, at ngumiti pa habang sinasagot ni Lucifuge ang tanong.

"You'll have your answer to the place we're going." Tinalikuran niya na kami't sinimulang sumipol para sa ilang mga kabayo. Tig-iisa kami kung bibilangin. "You might need these since we're going deep the forest."

Awtomatiko namang lumapit sa'kin ang isa sa limang kabayo't napansin kong kapareha 'yon ng kulay ng kay Lucifuge. Puti. He glanced back at me and nodded, as if telling me to not hesitate riding. Matapos kong umakyat ay lumapit din agad ang kabayo kay Lucifuge, at sa harap namin ay nagulat ako nang makita ang Wechuge na naging kabayo rin. He was guiding us, and it seemed like only the Wechuge knew its way to where we're going.

"The fortress, what I call to the place, changes its location everytime. The wechuge could feel its presence, that's why he's the one leading," paliwanag ni Lucifuge. Na-conscious tuloy ako dahil baka narinig niya ang mga iniisip ko kaya siya nagpaliwanag.

Napansin kong halos nawala na rin ang liwanag sa laki ng mga puno't dahon. The only thing that lights the place around is the wechuge.

Sabay-sabay naman kaming napatingin kay Lucifuge nang may sinabi siyang mga katagang 'di pamilyar sa'min. I think it might be another language or a spell, since the tone and accent was not similar to either Soulless' or Celestines'.

Nawala na ang wechuge at napaltan naman 'yon ng ilaw ng mga alitaptap at paru-paro sa paligid. Nang ipasingkit ko ang aking mga mata, saka ko napagtantong nasa harap kami ng isang... 'di ko alam? Hindi ko alam ang tamang tawag sa lugar kung sa'n dikit dikit ang mga puno na halos akalain kong isang malaking puno 'yon.

Sa gitna ay mayroon namang mga baging na mukhang nagsisilbing pinto. Sa likod naman ay mayroon ding talon na kataka-taka kung pa'nong narito. There are no mountains around the forest, but it seemed like we are surrounded by mountains or hills. It's probably magic.

Bumaba na ako sa kabayo't napasulyap sa'king mga kasamang namamangha pa rin sa paligid. Napaisip tuloy ako kung ano'ng hitsura ko kanina habang namamangha rin. Kaya naman, halos napatalon ako nang mapansing nakatingin si Lucifuge. Since when was he looking?

Sabay namang naghiwalay ang tingin naming dalawa't naglakad na siya patungo ro'n sa mga baging. Hinawi niya 'yon at ang iba namang mga baging ay kusang nagbukas ng daan. We followed him inside a cave. There were runes around but my eyes landed to two statues. They strangely looked familiar. Now, I wondered if they were a part of my past.

Naningkit pa ang mga mata ko nang mapansin na hindi pala estatwa ang mga ito. They're more like frozen bodies because of the ice and cold exterior.

Ngayon, alam ko na kung ba't ako pamilyar ang pakiramdam ko sa dalawang ito. It's the ice and magic that's similar to mine.

"They're Zero and Four," banggit sa'kin ni Lucifuge.

"Hm?" Sagot ko agad. I wasn't asking but he might felt that I was curious.

He sighed deeply and continued his sentence. "Hindi sila nakasulat sa kahit ano'ng mga libro rito sa Kingdom at iba pang library, pero maaari mong basahin sa mga libro rito ang tungkol sa kanila." He paused a little bit and smiled. "But maybe after we return."

Bigla kong nabasa ang utak niya— hindi, mukhang gusto niya talagang ipahayag sa'kin 'yon. "The ice is similar, right? Baka may malaman ka tungkol sa sarili mo kung mababasa mo ang mga aklat dito."

I returned a small smile and nodded, even though it's confusing why he wanted me to read these and know myself when we return. Surely, kapag nakabalik kami, mapaparatangan na ako ng nararapat na parusa o kung ano man ang maisip niya.

"So, these books have 'secret knowledge' about Summerland," ani Aeryn habang dinaraan ng tingin ang lahat. Kung minsa'y lumalapit pa siya at saglit na binabasa o dinaraan din ang content ng mga libro.

"Others are written in uh... weird language. Nababasa mo 'yon, Lucifuge?" Tanong naman ni Jax.

Lucifuge nodded and told us, "Kaya rin wala akong tiwala sa mga tinuturo sa Academy o Kingdom ay dahil taliwas iyon sa mga sinasabi ng mga librong narito."

Lowell scoffed and shook his head. "Paano mo nasisigurong mali ang sinasabi ng Academy, at tama ang sinasabi ng mga librong 'to?"

"I never said I believe these books more than I believe the Academy. It's just that I simply can't indulge myself to one side when there's an opposite one," sagot ni Fuge.

He has a point. They both have, so I just remain silent and let them have their ways. Nagikot-ikot pa ako at napatingin sa ilang bagay na mukhang pag-aari ni Fuge hanggang sa nakuha ng atensyon ko ang isang salaming mayr'ong mga runes na nakapalibot. Tiningnan ko ang aking hitsura't namalikmata nang makitang maikli ang buhok ko at maging ang features ko'y 'di ko nakilala. Napapikit ako't bumalik naman sa normal 'yon, ngunit 'di nagtagal, nawala naman bigla ang repleksyon ko. 

The runes glowed and suddenly the mirror showed another place. Fall. I immediately recognized the darkness and the aura, especially the tall tower seen beyond the trees, the execution tower. The image was moving, and I gasped loudly when a crow came out of the mirror. Kaagad namang nabaling ang atensyon sa'kin nina Lowell, Jax, at Aeryn, at nagulat din sa uwak.

Lucifuge, on the other hand, seemed to have expected this. "Is the mirror showing the land of Fall?" He asked casually. Tumango naman ako na dahil ng maliit niyang pagngiti. Then, he spoke once again. "Hindi ko rin alam kung pa'no 'yan gumagana, ngunit 'yan ang magdadala sa'tin sa Fall. Once the mirror lights up—"

And in that moment, everything around blinded me with white light. Napapikit ako't doon ko napansing hindi ko naririnig ang iba. Walang tunog ng boses, paghinga, o yapak. Napamulat ang aking mga mata sa kaba't mas lalo lang nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang mawala ang presensya nila at nakatungtong na ako sa imahe kanina, sa execution tower.

Sa sandaling iyon nagmadali akong maghanap ng kahit anong sandata sa paligid. Nakaabot ako sa gilid ng kagubatan at napansin bigla na hindi na rin mahaba ang buhok ko. It's as long as what I saw in the mirror. Maski ang suot ko'y nag-iba. I wore a full white outfit. Natigilan naman ako nang makaramdam ng presensya sa likod ko.

"What brings you here, Soulless? Naliligaw ka ba?" A soldier.

I could easily run away, but there's something that I have to confirm, and this is the only way to do it. Hinarap ko siya't mukhang hindi siya nagulat sa hitsura ko. If he's a soldier, he surely knows what Georgia Kaye Alas looks like, and would kill me an instant... but he didn't. That means I'm disguised as someone else.

Tumango ako't pilit na ginawang alalang alala ang ekspresyon. "My cat lost its way. Hindi ko pa rin nahahanap hanggang ngayon. May I go inside the forest?" I asked, hiding the shock in my voice because it didn't sound like me at all.

The soldier didn't seem suspicious of me, but I was caught off guard when he asked.

"Ano'ng pangalan mo? Ililista ko para tuluyan kang payagan."

I gulped and mentioned a name that first entered my mind. A name that Lady Anika, Eanta's head, always mistakingly called me before.

"Lucianna Sariel," I mentioned and smiled.

Discovering Summerland
By lostmortals
Plagiarism is a crime.

The name hits different when you've read P.A. and A.A. 😭🤘

Thank you for reading! Votes and comments are appreciated.