Chapter 29: Beads of Necklace and the Ancient Quillper

Now that we had finally agreed on our alliance, Kreios and I started to explain the whole situation and how we ended up in the forest.

We were huddled around, sitting on a fallen-down tree, the fire crackling in the middle of us, our shadows dancing, the wind blowing accompanied by pieces of leaves, buzzing crickets, and the momentary shadows of clouds passing through the moonlight and meadows of the trees around us.

After Livius was threatened with his possible situation if he didn't cooperate, he remained seated, listening and observing.

"Does he have any enchantment that might be used against us?" tanong ko kay Luna.

Pinagliwanag lang niya iyong malaking kuwintas na nakatali sa katawan ni Livius at nang umiling siya sa akin ay napahinga ako nang maluwag.

Ipinagpatuloy ko na ang pagpapaliwanag sa grupo ni Luna. Sinimulan ko mula kay Juniper, sa mga Viardellon at ang buong plano namin ng gabing iyon hanggang sa dumating si Livius.

"You mean...y-you left your empire to a mere human?" tanong ni Delilah na tila hindi makapniwala.

"She's smart and if you're worried about her security, the Viardellons are there to protect her," sagot ko.

"I don't understand. Even if she's smart... it's hard to know everything about this world. Even a woman from the prophecy needs months to know the information about a certain kingdom, what more if the whole Nemetio Spiran..." halos hindi na maituloy ni Elena ang mga sasabihin niya. 

"Are you sure that she's a mere human? What if she's just deceiving you?" sunod na tanong ni Catalina.

Hindi naman ako nagulat sa sinabi nilang iyon dahil hindi naman bago sa kanila ang impormasyon tungkol sa mga babaeng itinakda at sa kalakaran ng mundong ito.

After all, these women are survivors. They passed the Deltora's selection out of thousands of applicants. Hindi sila mapipili ni Tobias kung walang abilidad ang mga babaeng ito.

"She's a gifted human with an amazing brain. A real genius. Are you familiar with the Ancient Quillper?"

Nang una itong inilabas ni Kreios ay hindi ito ganoon kakilala sa Nemetio Spiran, higit lang iyong sumikat noong puro tungkol na sa aming tatlo nina Kreios at Tobias.

Sino ba naman ang hindi mawiwili sa inilalabas nitong sina Kreios at Juniper? It was not just the female servants, the commoners, fairies, pixies and women in different creatures, kahit ang mga kababaihang kasama ko sa palasyo ay nakaabang din sa pangunguna ni Naha.

Ang pag-iibigan naming tatlo ay isang malaking usapan sa kabuuan ng Nemetio Spiran.

Sabay-sabay silang tumango sa akin.

"She is the writer of Ancient Quillper."

Someone gasped from them, mouth wide opened, eyes widened, narrowed, and any kind of expression of surprise. Of course, who would have thought that the writer was a human?

"I am her master. Of course, I trained her." Kreios said proudly.

"No." Mabilis kong sagot.

Natawa si Livius at umismid si Kreios. Hindi na pinansin ng mga kababaihan si Kreios na humawak na lang ng kahoy at nilaro-laro iyong apoy sa gitna naming lahat.

"Given your explanation... and let's all believe that Mudelior is in good hands with that gifted human," panimula ni Remi.

"Thank you for that," Kreios said with a nod.

Remi continued. "What will happen then? This man," she glanced at Livius. 

"Appeared in your supposed escape, but in front of your empire's eyes the queen is abducted, and the king should be after her abductor. Dapat ay wala ang nagpapanggap na hari sa harap ng mga nilalang sa Mudelior. Dapat makita nilang hinahabol ka ng hari sa kasuotang iyon. No one recognized the king in his..." makahulugan niyang sinulyapan si Kreios.

Sabay-sabay tumango ang natitirang kababaihan habang pinapasadahan din nila ng tingin si Kreios. My mate, in the middle of this cold forest, was just almost dressed. He was just wearing that silk mesh sash across his right shoulder to his waist, with his silk mesh pants.

"Y-Your Majesty? Hindi ka ba nilalamig?" tanong ni Elena.

Kreios waved his hand dismissively. "Cold is nothing."

"Ignore him," sabi ko na lang.

"Isn't this going to make everything complicated? It was supposed to be a marital conflict, but now in the eyes of the empire... this isn't just about a jealous queen who needed comfort from her king, but an abducted queen who needed to be saved. Imposibleng hindi sasali rito ang Sartorias. Do you have an idea what's happening ni Mudelior right now?"

Sabay napasipol sina Kreios at Livius sa mahabang sinabi ni Remi pero kapwa rin sumimangot sa isa't isa nang mapansin nilang magkasabay sila.

"Don't you think Atlas sent him to mess up everything?" dagdag ni Luna.

"You got nice fellow at our party, huh?" sabi ni Livius na hindi na pinansin ang iritableng titig sa kanya ni Kreios.

Halinhinan ang tingin sa amin ni Kreios ang mga babae. Remi was right. Nagawa kong pagplanuhan ang pagtakas namin ni Kreios at gawin iyong rason para pagtakpan ang totoong paglabas namin sa emperyo. Tama rin ang siyang sinabi ni Luna, na siyang naisip ko. What if Atlas sent Livius on purpose? What's the current situation of Mudelior? How did Tres and Juniper handle it?

"To make it easy for you, I was not sent here. I attended the wedding at my own will so don't worry, and that pet Atlas is busy serving his queen, he's occupied. He'll not notice you," sagot ni Livius.

"We're not going to believe you," sabi ni Catalina.

"Alright," he said with a formal bow.

"Tell us what's next. Didn't you and the king mess this up?" mariing tanong ni Luna.

Akma na sana akong magsasalita nang hawakan ni Kreios ang kamay ko.

"What again? We messed up? I don't think so. I am afraid... it's not just my queen who prepared this orchestrated drama of the century."

Nagtataka akong lumingon kay Kreios kasabay nang pag-angat niya ng isa niyang braso. Kapwa kami napatingala sa himpapawid nang makarinig ako ng pamilyar na ingay ng lumilipad na ibon.

The brown bird— the courier of the Ancient Quillper from Mudelior. Dumapo ito sa braso ni Kreios, kinuha niya ang kopya na nakasabit sa leeg nito bago ito muling lumipad papalayo sa amin.

"That fast?" tanong ko.

"This is just a draft."

Bumalik sa alaala ko iyong reaksyon ni Juniper nang umatake ako kay Tres, alam kong higit siyang magugulat lalo na nang lumabas si Livius na wala rin sa aming pinag-usapan. These women's words make sense.

"How did you explain it to Juniper? I don't think you're expecting Livius..." nalilitong sabi ko.

Kreios waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, no... My Queen. I left one of the cards inside my red wedding suit, and it has a note."

Pinakatitigan ko si Kreios at pilit kong inalala ang nangyari bago kami nagtungo rito. Biglang bumalik sa isip ko iyong mga baraha sa lamesa habang nagkukunwaring lasing si Kreios at ang paraan ng pagsusuot ni Tres ng pulang pangkasal na inagaw niya kay Kreios.

Umawang ang bibig ko at ngumisi si Kreios. "I gave him a simple note that no matter what happens we must leave the empire without anyone on our tail. No matter what kind of interruption. He has to guide Juniper to grasp the situation and release the latest issue by the next morning."

Hindi pa man binubuksan ni Kreios ang kopya ng Ancient Quillper ay ibinigay niya na ito sa akin. Nagsalita muli si Luna.

"I think we can see the situation before we crossed paths in this forest... the beads of my necklace have a special ability to show the recent past."

"How recent?" tanong ko.

"Last twelve hours..." sagot ni Luna.

"It's too short," sabi ni Livius.

Pansin ko na tumitig muli si Kreios kay Livius sa sinabi niyang iyon.

"The beads of my necklace are just inclined to monitoring the effects of herbal medicines only... that's why it's not necessary to ask for a longer time since this is not made to review the recent situation of a certain creature and its life. Hindi ko rin ito ginagamit sa paraang iyon, but today's the first time."

Luna took a bead on the necklace tied around Livius' body. It grew bigger until it looked like Claret's ball of crystal. Inilahad ni Luna ang dalawa niyang kamay roon kasabay ng pagliliwanag noon at ng kanyang mga mata.

Una'y tila usok lang ang laman niyon ngunit habang nagtatagal ay unti-unti na iyong naglilinaw. Unang ipinakita si Tres na nakasuot pa rin ng pulang pangkasal ngunit may takip pa rin ang kanyang mukha.

Panay pa rin ang sigawan at takbuhan ng mga nilalang sa paligid. Si Juniper na akala ko'y higit na matitigilan ay nagmamadaling dumalo kay Tres at niyugyog niya ang balikat nito.

"The Queen was taken! Y-you idiot king—" Juniper was cut off when she noticed that the man in the red traditional wedding suit was not her abusive king, but one of the Viardellons.

But Tres ignored her. Sinapo muna ni Tres ang kanyang ulo habang nanatili siyang nakaupo sa sahig.

Sabay muling napasipol sina Kreios at Livius. "You might have hurt him pretty badly, huh? Poor thing. Still, thank you very much," saad ni Kreios.

"Why are you—" hindi na natuloy ni Juniper ang sasabihin niya at napaupo na rin siya at natutulala na sa nangyayari.

"This wasn't the plan, right? She was taken. I don't know him. I am not familiar with that man." Marahas itinuro ni Juniper ang malaking pinto ng bulwagang iyon.

"Who the fuck is that asshole—" iritableng isinuntok ni Tres ang isa niyang kamao sa sahig at doon nalaglag ang isang baraha.

He took the card and read the note on it before he irritatingly crumpled it. Hindi pa man nakatatayo si Tres mula sa sahig ay may lumapit sa kanyang matanda na may kasunod na babaylan.

"Pendleton..." usal ko.

Kreios shrugged his shoulders. "Of course, I have a few loyal servants."

"I am afraid, we are on our own, Miss Quillper."

Tres flicked his fingers and with a single snap, the whole grand hall was engulfed by darkness, except for him in a traditional red wedding suit.

"Viardellons are known as shadow wielders, right?" tanong ni Elena.

"They say... but no one is informed if all of them can do it, which is what I heard," sabi ni Delilah.

With that given spotlight, Tres Viardellon, unexpectedly took Kreios's way of speaking, the way he waved his hand and even his voice as he uttered his first order.

"Close all the borders! No one will leave the castle tonight! Finally! Finally!" habang tumatagal ay lumalakas ang pagtawa ni Tres.

His arms were wide as he bent himself a little while looking up— he looked like a villain king.

Pinaglaro ni Luna ang ilang daliri niya para may higit kaming makita sa kadilimang iyon maliban kay Tres, si Juniper na nakaupo pa rin sa sahig at natutulala kay Tres at kina Pendleton at sa babaylan na siyang gumagawa ng paraan para mabago ang boses ni Tres.

"He took the bait! Finally! We have the criminal who has been trying to possess my queen! Catch the insolent bastard! Tomorrow morning, we will have a live execution! This is a threat to my throne! To my beloved!"

Nagtataka na akong lumingon kay Kreios. "How did he... I don't understand."

"Oh, I gave him a little script on that card. Dinagdagan niya lang. He's a good actor, huh? But Juniper told me that Viardellons are terrible actors..." Kreios tilted his head in confusion.

Hindi ko na pinanuod pa ang pag-arte ni Tres na kahit si Juniper ay kita ko ang takot, maging sina Pendleton at iyong babaylan ay napapaatras. Binuklat ko na iyong kopya ng Ancient Quillper.

Saglit ko lang iyon binasa bago ko hinayaan si Elena na basahin iyon nang malakas para sa lahat.

An Unexpected Wedding in Mudelior: Was the Guest Truly Unexpected?

In a surprising twist, the unexpected wedding in Mudelior was revealed to be a carefully orchestrated trap, made by none other than the great King Kreios Sageton himself. This cunning plan was set to finally expose and annihilate the man who had thought he could use the queen's vulnerability.

King Kreios wasted no time. Before the morning came, he executed the intruder with his own hands, reclaiming the queen as his.

The wedding is nothing but a farce—a ploy to lure and destroy any threats to the queen's safety. Willing to endure the wrath of his beloved queen and her family, the Sartorias, King Kreios risked his own reputation, driven to his desperate desire to secure the protection of his beloved.

Despite the wedding's true nature, the king has shown his dedication to winning back the queen's heart by preparing an iconic golden room—a familiar gift, offered by the legendary King Thaddeus to Queen Talisha. He has announced that he would stay inside the room with his queen to tend to their marital conflicts.

The king has temporarily entrusted his rule to a general from Parsua Avalon, Prince Tres Viardellon. While the bride, in question, an innocent pawn in this grand deception, is now under royal protection. Sources said that the queen's twin brother, Prince Casper Lancelot Gazellian is on his way from Sartorias to provide further support.

Sabay muling napasipol sina Livius at Kreios matapos basahin iyon ni Elena. Kumuyom ang mga kamao ko. "How dare he use my mother's golden room..."

"He abolished and cleared the wedding, huh?" naiiling na sabi ni Kreios.

"The human girl did this?" tanong ni Luna.

Hawak na ni Remi ang Ancient Quillper. "They're quite a good pair."

"So, that's it. Maybe we fail in our farce about you running away and me hopelessly following you. But I think I like this one better, us, inside a golden room for months... making love, resolving our conflict. Maybe we can have a royal child before we end this mission." Kreios said casually.

Napabuntonghininga na ako. "Alright. Tres and Juniper have it controlled, and with Casper on his way... we can do this mission straight ahead."

Sabay-sabay silang tumango sa akin. Inabot sa akin ni Remi iyong Ancient Quillper, inirolyo ko iyon bago ko iyon marahang itinapik sa noo ni Kreios. "I hate you." I whispered.

He grinned. "You don't mean it."