Chapter 35: Agreement

Kapwa kami nakahiga ng mga kababaihan sa iisang silid. Bagaman hiwa-hiwalay ang aming higaan, hindi naman iyon nalalayo sa isa't isa.

I could hear their breathing—some even mumbling in their sleep, gritting their teeth, or shifting their positions, creating noises from the bed covers—but I ignored it as I was lost in thought, unable to sleep. My eyes were fixed on the old ceiling of the room. It was supposed to be dark, but there was a dim glow from an old lantern hanging near the door. The slightly open window, with a glimpse of moonlight, revealed the dancing dust in the air and the music of the night: the chirping crickets, whispers of the wind, and the fluttering wings of ravens outside.

Hindi ko na alam kung gaano na ako katagal nakatulala sa kawalan habang malayo na ang nararating ng panaginip ng mga kababaihan sa paligid ko. Pilit ko man pinatutulog ang sarili ko ay hindi ko pa rin mapigilan mag-isip na tila may napakahaba pa akong oras para sa kinabukasan.

Mariin kong inihawakan ng dalawa kong kamay ang dulo ng kumot ko, huminga ako nang malalim at hinayaan ko ang sarili kong mahinang umawit dahilan kung bakit natigil sa minsang pagsasalita ang isang babae, ang may nagngingitngit na ngipin at ang iilan sa kanila na tila hindi mapakali sa posisyon nila sa kanilang higaan.

It was one of those nights that I wished my songs could soothe my thoughts and heart. Ngunit tulad nga ng sabi nina ama't ina, ang kapangyarihan ay laging may limitasyon.

Bumalik ang isip ko sa mga narinig kong salita sa paliguan.

As much as I wanted to exclude Rosh from this journey and let him focus on his missions with the other princes of the prophecy—not to mention his role as the general of Deltora, given his connections to these mentioned places—I felt like I didn't have much choice but to ask for his presence.

Though the thought crossed my mind way back before that just like the others, I might seek his help, but I didn't expect it to be this early. Lalo na't hindi naman bago sa aking kaalaman ang kinahaharap ngayon ng Deltora. As much as possible I didn't want to burden him. Lalo na't hindi naman kami ganoon kalapit ni Rosh, hindi tulad ng relasyon nila ni Lily o Zen.

I closed my eyes and tried to recall the situation in Deltora after I left Parsua.

After what happened to Finn and Kalla, even though there was no formal conversation between my siblings and me, I felt it. There was a time when we allowed our family to distance ourselves from Le'Vamueivos. I knew King Dastan, Lily, and even Zen, there was no way that they would blame the other Le'Vamuievos for what happened, but our families had mutual respect for each other.

Ang tagal din simula nang makarinig kami ng balita sa mga Le'Vamuievos. They distanced themselves. They gave us time... not to heal since all of us were aware that it couldn't be healed by time, but a considerable amount of space for all of us to breathe a little.

We all knew that we weren't allowed to stop... but we could pause but not for too long.

Naputol ang distansya sa pagitan ng aming mga pamilya nang biglang magpakita si Rosh sa Sartorias. For the first time, Prince Rosh Alistair Le'Vamueivos didn't look like himself in front of us.

Hindi lang ako, kundi lahat ng naroon sa silid na iyon ay may parehong ekspresyon nang makita si Rosh— it was as if we weren't looking at the same elegant prince of Nemetio Spiran. The glimmers around him, the usual haughty air, and the brightness that made anyone think of the word beauty the moment their eyes fell on him—were gone. Despite his usual clothing, it felt like no colors or stones were adorning him.

Inside the throne room, where all the royals were seated on their thrones, Rosh was kneeling on one of his knees on the red carpet, his head bowed, his hands balled, his shoulders shaking. He looked sincerely defeated, conflicted, ashamed... everything I never thought I'd see in the most confident, elegant, and beautiful prince of this lifetime.

"King Dastan, Queen Leticia... I know that there's no such thing as forgiveness from what m-my sister... our family has done and as one of the princes of—" hindi pinatapos ni Reyna Leticia si Rosh sa anumang sasabihin niya.

Kahit ako ay hindi rin iyon nais marinig mula kay Rosh.

Queen Leticia stood up from her throne, and her words were as sharp as the sharpest blade she had as she uttered Prince Rosh's name with the authority of a powerful queen.

"Prinsipe Rosh, wala kang kasalanan," gumala ang mga mata ni Reyna Leticia sa paligid, sa iilang konseho at maging sa aming mga Gazellian at sa bawat kapareha na naroon.

It was the first time Queen Leticia showed her unfiltered emotions inside the throne room, as she had perfected herself to be as calm as King Dastan in just a few years.

"At kung sinuman ang maglalakas ng loob na magsabi na ikaw ay may kasalanan..." mariin ang bawat bitaw ng mga salita ni Reyna Leticia na tila hinahamon ang sinuman na sasalungat sa kanilang mga binibitawang salita.

"Kung sinuman ang magtuturing na ang mga Le'Vamuievos na kasama namin sa nakaraang digmaan laban sa Deesedayah ay mga makakasalanan ay aking higit na parurusahan."

Saglit na hindi nakapagsalita si Rosh habang nakatulala siya kay Reyna Leticia. Namayani ang katahimikan sa malaking silid na iyon. Gumala rin ang tingin ko sa paligid, iba't ibang emosyon ang bakas sa bawat nilalang na naroon, ngunit higit na namayani ang takot— takot na hindi nais pang higit na maramdaman mula sa mga salitang binitawan ng reyna.

We haven't seen Queen Leticia like this—standing up, threatening anyone with her words. She's always had a calm and bright presence beside my cold brother. Kaya ang masaksihan ito, alam kong walang kahit sino ang may kakayahang sumalungat sa mga sinabi niya.

"Q-Queen Leticia... it's my—"

But he was cut off again, and this time I couldn't help but feel that shiver in my spine as I heard that authoritative, cold, and powerful voice of my brother— King Dastan Lancelot Gazellian, the current king of Nemetio Spiran.

"Lift your head, Prince Rosh. Listen to your queen. Let us hear your news from Deltora. You Are Not Sinned. Not even your known brothers and sister. RISE."

I saw how Queen Leticia smiled at King Dastan before she returned to her throne.

Tumayo nang tuwid si Rosh at hinarap niya ang hari't reyna dala ang sitwasyon sa Deltora, lalo na kina Tobias at Kezalli. Claret and Zen immediately volunteered to help them. The conversation inside the throne room didn't last long as King Dastan dismissed it quickly after receiving the news and giving a command.

Inaasahan ko nang hindi magtatagal sa Sartorias sina Rosh, Claret at Zen, ngunit hindi ko inaasahan na makasasalubong ko si Rosh sa paglalakad ko sa pasilyo. We just nodded at each other, passed by each other but after a few more steps, I haltered, turned my back and looked at him.

"Prince Rosh, can we talk?"

Tumigil si Rosh sa paglalakad at lumingon sa akin. He bowed a little and brought one of his hands to his chest as a formal way of acceptance. "It's an honor."

Binuksan ko iyong malaking bintana kung saan ay matatanaw namin ang hardin ng palasyo. Humarap ako roon at hinayaan kong maglakad pabalik sa akin si Rosh. At nang katabi ko na siya ay inilahad ko ang isang kamay ko sa kanya.

He looked at my hand, confused. "What?"

"Where is your symbolic red rose?"

For the first time, after I saw him today, I witnessed his usual playful expression. One of his brows arched before he summoned a red rose in his hand and handed it to me. "I thought you'd only love flowers given by my brother."

"I thought you love giving women flowers."

"But you and Tobias..." he shook his head. "Isn't this relationship between you and him making it more complicated with your mates?"

Lumingon ako sa kanya at nag-angat ako ng kilay. "As if you weren't aware of our farce."

He laughed lightly. "You're both complicated, and I didn't want to get involved. So tell me... what do I owe the youngest princess of Gazellian for needing to talk to me?"

"I'll go with Claret and Zen. I'll sing a song for your brother, and I'll risk angering my mate, with his spies hiding in every shadow to watch over me. My songs will help your twin."

"Aren't you friends with Tobias? Why does this sound like a bargain?" nakangiwing sabi niya.

"Because it is a bargain."

He sighed. "Alright. Do tell your bargain."

"I'll help him recover but do promise me that if I need you, you'll come no matter what happens even if you're in the middle of a serious situation. You have to come to me."

He chuckled and even shook his head as if he just heard one of the most ridiculous words he had heard in his lifetime. "I have this feeling that even if I didn't have this kind of agreement with anyone, I'll be summoned uninvited or not. Nagugulat na lang ako na nasa gitna na ako ng misyon. Alright, you can call me."

Tipid akong ngumiti sa kanya. "I just asked formally and made an agreement, so this isn't a request since I'd be doing you a favor. If you come to me, it's just a payment. And it's good that you wouldn't be surprised."

"Talk about being considerate, Princess Harper, huh? It's a pleasure. Lily wouldn't think like that," natatawang sabi niya.

Tumanaw muli ako sa labas at pinagmasdan ang hardin. "Because you're also one of them. You're afraid of Lily."

"Who wouldn't be?"

"Aside from that... I informed you right away because you might feel like you're sick of it. Helping all of us, since when? Lily's war, Claret, Kalla, Naha, Queen Leticia, Anna, and even Iris..." naiiling na sabi ko.

It's hard to admit it, but I couldn't help but admire him.

Hindi agad ako nakatanggap ng kasagutan sa kanya ngunit ramdam ko ang kanyang titig sa akin. Nang sandaling lumingon akong muli sa kanya at sasalubungin ang kanyang mga mata, agad siyang nag-iwas sa akin at tumalikod.

"I'll never get sick of it since a beautiful prince like me loves to help a damsel in distress with less attractive mates."

Nagsimula na siyang maglakad papalayo sa akin. He lazily waved his hand without looking back. "See you around, Princess..."

I went to Deltora and spent most of my time helping Tobias with songs to ease his mind, while Kreios was busy spreading his ridiculous stories about our love and the thorns between us.

Nais ko siyang kitilin sa mga lumalabas na salita mula sa Ancient Quillper noon dahil hindi niya man lang naiisip ang sitwasyon ng Deltora. He was just blinded by his jealousy towards Tobias who was literally suffering from his mate's absence, but I tried to ignore him.

When Tobias finally recovered, I gave him a few parting words, after all those years that we enjoyed each other's friendly relationship.

The last memory that came to mind was the attack on Deltora by Atlas and Veda's minions. Freya had been killed with Kezalli's efforts that made the witches get captured, yet it came at a great cost as Kezalli's body was swallowed inside Astrid's mirror—and that made Tobias decide to follow her, attempting to take his own life, if not for his siblings stopping him from harming himself.

We tried to help them during that time, but none of the portals were working, even with the power of Queen Leticia. Veda's blood, as a Le'Vamuievos, overpowered her and prevented the queen from gaining access. The situation grew more serious, not just because of Atlas, but due to the presence of Astrid. It was Claret herself who told us everything—how the two Le'Vamuievos were heavily affected by the recent attack by Atlas, who seemed to be playing with all of us, and once again, by the two mates who were swallowed back into the mirror.

Gusto ko pa sanang tumulong ngunit hindi na iyon nangyari dahil gumawa na ng paraan si Kreios para ako na mismo ang magtungo sa Mudelior.

Ano na kaya ang balita sa kanila?

Should I summon Rosh right now and ask for his opinion about the Holy Land or should Kreios and I, with the farce in the whole empire that we were inside the golden room, go outside and visit Parsua? But that would nullify the effort we made in our marriage scandal and the granted power to Tres.

Huminga akong muli nang malalim. At ipinikit na ang mga mata. I should probably sleep and continue these thoughts tomorrow—that was what I thought until I saw the floating figure of a pixie made of sand. I grinned.

My mate is outside. I knew he could feel it—I needed a bite.