Royal 10

Meteor’s POV

“I’ll join the try-out and make it to the games.”

“I knew you would do that Ate Meteor!”

“Not surprising enough. Ikaw pa, palagi namang nasusunod ang gusto mo,” sabi ni Leona na nag-eenglish na. “Eh teka, para san yung tatlong potion? Para dun sa maid mo?”

“Nope. Not for Casey. It’s for you and for me.”

“WHAT?!” napatayo siya. “Seryoso ka ateng?!”

“Shh ka lang Ate Leona! You’ll wake the—” Just then we heard little footsteps coming out from one room.

“Tita Goddesh? Whach going on?,” the four-year old kiddo stepped out while rubbing his eyes. He blinked three times—wait, more like he did the ‘beautiful eyes’ trick. “Mommy?”

Uh-oh.

“MOMMYY~!” sumugod siya sakin and gave me one hell of a hug. Wala akong nagawa kundi kalungin siya as he started kissing me in the cheeks. “MOMMYYY~! You’re back! We’re gonna play again! Yippee~!”

Naaawa na ako sa pisngi ko, hindi lang nahalikan ni Blizzard kundi pati na rin tong batang to.

I saw Leona mouthed some words, ‘Act-like-a-mom!’

Teka. Eh pano ba kasi maging nanay?

“How are you..err,” ano nga ulit pangalan nito? Ahsht! Makakalimutin ka talaga, Meteor! Good thing at umubo si Leona and somewhere between that, narinig ko yung ‘Winter’.

“How are you baby Winter? Mommy missed you so much,” mabilis kong sabi. Sheesh. That was close.

Nagliwanag naman ang mga mata niya, “Winter ish fine, Mommy. Winter mished you too. Chuu~” then he gave another kiss in the cheek. Haay. Lamog na pisngi ko.

“Gagawa lang ako ng merienda mga Ateng. Gutom na rin yan si Winter,” pumunta sa kusina si Leona at iniwan kaming dalawa ni Alice don.

“Ate Met—I mean Ate Azure, C-Can I hold him?” nagtwi-twinkle yung eyes ni Alice habang nakaextend yung kamay niya kay Winter. Para siyang wolf na takam na takam sa maliit na baboy na hawak ko. “So cute. Cute. Cuteness overload. Kawaii.” And she keeps on muttering the same words.

“Stay away from that girl,” sabi ko kay Winter kaya ayun si Alice, nagpunta sa sulok at may dark lonely aura na nakapalibot sakanya. Teary eyes pa ang loka.

“Yesh Mommy. She looksh ugly ducky.”

“Why are you like that to me? Huhuhu. My dignity. My cuteness. Huhubells.”

Winter ignored her and looked hopefully at me, “Mommy~ hindi mo na ba ako ile-leave?”

Cool. When did Winter learn how to speak that way? Though he sound of a bit conyo.

“I need to, Winter. Mommy has work,” he became teary-eyed. “But I promise I will be back and visit you often.”

Fugde! Bat ko sinabi yun? Now he will expect me. Wrong move, Meteor.

Pero ano naman kasing magagawa ko? The kiddo looks sad when I said that. I can’t see him crying, he’s too cute for that.

“You promish?”

“Yes, baby. I promise.”

“Meriendalalala~ Kainan na!” nilapag ni Leona yung cookies and orange juice sa table. “Oh? Anyare kay Alice?”

“Nagdradrama. Hoy Alice. Kumain ka na dito!” tawag ko sakanya pero umiling lang siya.

“Don’t wanna!”

“Tch. Arte. Bahala ka, ubusan ka namin ng cookies.” And the next thing we knew, nandun na ang hyper and happy Alice at may hawak nang dalawang cookies. Kakain din pala eh. -_-

Habang kumakain kami, kinwento ni Leona kung ano yung ginagawa ni Winter dito. Marunong nang magtagalog kahit konti yung bata. Kadalasan daw, nagdro-drawing lang ito buong araw. Hindi naman daw masyadong pasaway but he has his tantrums sometimes especially pag hindi nakukuha ang gusto. Mahilig sa sweets especially chocolates. At kapag nakakain siya ng matamis, automatic on na ang hyper mode niya. And tinuruan na rin siya ni Leona na hindi mabulol though hindi talaga maiiwasan yun lalo na't nasa stage siya ng pagsasalita.

“Aww~ I thought I would be the cutest wizard in the world but these kiddo is the one. I so love you like cotton candy, Winter!” nanggigigil na sabi ni Alice. “Ate Alice-chan will give you so many many many chocolates and cotton candies and lollipops and.. and.. everything sweets!”

Tinaas ni Winter yung dalawang cookies na hawak niya. “Yaay~ Yippee~!”

Sige. Magsama silang dalawa. -_-

Maya-maya humarap sakin si Winter, “Mommy where ish Daddy?”

Bigla kong nabuga yung juice na iniinom ko.

Fudge! Fudge! Fudge!

“I smell trouble,” pakantang sabi ni Leona. Nahawa ata ang bakla kay Winter, madalas na kasing nag-eenglish.

“This is so not cute Ate Azure,” segunda naman ni Alice.

What should I do? What to do? What to—

Biglang nagpopped up sa utak ko si Blizzard. Pakiexplain nga kung bakit bigla-bigla na lang sumusulpot yung egghead na yon?

“He’s somewhere,” I told Winter.

“Where?,” pangungulit pa nung bata. Why did I end up in a situation like this? I pity myself.

“Somewhere..” nagpalingon-lingon ako. Saan ba? Saan siya nagpunta?

“Over the rainbow hunting for unicorns.”

“Why dosh he hunt unicornsh?” he asked innocently.

“Because, he needs corns to make clouds that rain popcorns.”

“Really?” Winter’s eyes widen with amazement. “It will rain popcornsh?”

“Err.. Yeah. But it will take a long time to rain popcorns because unicorns are hard to find. That’s why Daddy will be gone for a long time.”

“Aww~” his face saddened. “But I hope Daddy will shoon find unicornsh and come home and we will be happy family again! Yippee!”

“He will come home, don’t worry.” I kissed his head and hugged him. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero nalulungkot ako. Nalulungkot ako para kay Winter kasi hindi niya alam kung nasaan ang tunay niyang mga magulang, kung buhay pa sila o patay na.

That day, I realized I should take responsibility for Winter and be his Mom until he grows up.

~~~**~~~

Hinayaan ko muna kay Alice si Winter habang nag-uusap kami ni Leona. Naglalaro yung dalawa ng bahay-bahayan. Good tandem tho, isang bata at isang isip-bata.

"Look, Leona. Here's my plan for the try out," I gave her the details.

Simple lang naman ang plano. Kailangan ko lang naman makuha ang 'insignia' o ang tatak para makasali sa grupong lalaban sa Stella Royal Games

To have the insignia, I need to win the try-out. Ako na ang bahala doon. What I need is a disguise. For sure, hindi ako papayagan ni kuya lalong-lalo na si Dad. Kaya nagpagawa ako kay Leona ng tatlong potions. One potion of fire and one potion of mirror transformation (yung ginagamit ni Casey para maging kamukha ko) pero ang pinagkaiba lang, good for one day na yung bagong gawa ni Leona. And yung last, ideal transformation which I'm going to use.

Si Leona ang gaganap na ako and he will hold the potion of fire in case na kailangan ni kuya na magshow-off. Besides, Leona is also a good actress kaya naniniwala akong he can act like me without any flaws. Isa pa, in case na kailangan ulit lumaban ni Astro, Leona can fill in his power through his potions. Casey on the other hand will take care of Winter, kaya nagpaalam siyang day-off niya bukas.

Sa disguise ko bukas, hindi ko pa alam and I guess I'll figure out something later. Sa ngayon, my only goal is the insignia.

Because once I have it marked on me, there's no way they can pull me out from the Games unless I die or I quit.

Nagpaalam na ako sakanila at sabay na kaming umalis ni Alice. Winter almost cried, but I promise him I'll take him out once I completed my 'secret work'. Dun lang siya napatahan. Sinabi ko rin sakanya na bukas, dadating ang 'kapatid' ko named Casey para alagaan siya since Leona would be out. He became excited and can't wait to see my sister.

~~~**~~~

"Kaloka dito ateng! Jusmeyo! Kwarto mo pa lang, triple na ng parlor ko!," Leona exclaimed. It's 7 in the morning and one hour later, the Selection Event would be starting. Pinapunta ko na si Leona dito para makapagset-up kami. "Nakakaloka sa slide ha. Brilliant idea iyon, bet na bet ko."

"Yeah, that's how you greet me in the morning," antok na antok kong sabi. Ang daldal niya kasi. Ayokong dinadaldal ako pag bagong gising ako.

"Sorry naman ateng. Perstaym dito eh," natatawang sabi niya. "Ang aga mo kong pinapunta dito, tas malalaman kong kagigising mo lang pala. Kaloka ka! Naka-pajama ka pa oh!"

"Yeah whatever. I'll take my bath. Wag kang lalabas ng kwarto. Saglit lang ako," pumasok na ako sa bathroom at mabilis na naligo. Maya-maya, nakarinig ako ng mga boses kaya madalian ko na ring isinuot yung damit ko. Who could that be? Hindi lang naman pwedeng si Leona yun.

Then the worst idea popped in my head. Pano kung si Mom ang pumasok?

I'm dead.

Paglabas ko, I saw Casey fixing my things up in my backpack--skateboard, potions, yung sandata na binigay ni Old Man na hanggang ngayon hindi ko pa nabubuksan, fake citizenship certificate and fake birth certificate.

"All set," tumingin sakin si Casey. "Good luck, Princess. Aalis nako bago pa magising yung bata."

"Thanks, Casey." then she went out of my room.

Hinarap ko si Leona. "You ready?"

"Kaloka mga tao rito no? Lahat nag-eenglish. Nosebleed ako ateng!"

"You'll get used to it."

Sinuot ko muna ang isang light blue gown at humarap ako kay Leona. "Drink it up."

Kinuha niya yung mirror transformation potion at ininom ang laman nito. Few seconds later, I already have a twin Meteor in front of me.

Nagpalit na ako sa usual kong damit kapag nakikipaglaban. I put my black cloak on and glasses. Hindi ko pwedeng isuot ang maskara ko, baka paghinalaan pa ako dun.

Kinuha ko ang ideal transformation potion at ininom ito. Let's see, ano bang magandang physical characteristics?

Sixteen-year old female with white hair and red eyes. I imagined Skye Ziel von Einzbern, a character in one of the stories I write.

"Tuhruy! Nerdy chic ang peg," maarteng sabi ni Leona. "Bet ko yan. Fierce. Rawr!"

Napailing na lang ako sakanya. I checked myself in the mirror.

Good. Just exactly as I imagined Skye.

"I'm good to go," kinuha ko na yung backpack ko. "Just don't do anything that will put me into trouble, aight?"

"Sure sure ateng!"

Bago ako magslide sa secret passage, nilingon ko pa ulit si Leona. "Just act like a princess."

~~~**~~~

I never thought the line would be this long outside the stadium.

Maraming pumuntang wizard citizens, karamihan ay mga lalaki. Nakapila sila sa registration habang nandito naman ang mga sundalo ng palasyo para panatalihin ang kaayusan at kapayapaan.

Nakikita ko pa lang ang pila, naiirita na ako. I hate waiting. Masyadong konti ang pasensya ko.

Hindi ko alam kung ilang minuto na akong nakatayo doon pero hindi ko na matiis. Parang hindi naman umuusad yung pila. Ang layo-layo ko pa rin sa entrance ng Sirius Center Stadium.

Doon ko lang narealize kung bakit hindi umuusad. Madaming sumisingit sa pila at hindi naman makareklamo ang sinisingitan dahil pinagbabantaan ang mga ito.

“Ano ba naman to. Hindi maayos.”

“Oo nga, andaming sumisingit.”

“Hindi sila mabantayan ng mga sundalo. Pano? Puro daldal at inom lang naman ang alam ng mga yan.”

“Sinabi mo pa.”

Napalingon ako. Seems those gossips were right. Walang ginawa yung ibang sundalo kundi makipag-usap lang at makipag-tawanan. They do not even notice this.

Hell. Nakakabadtrip to ha.

Umalis ako sa pila at naglakad papunta sa pinakaharap. Matao na masikip pa, wala pang disiplina. Hell.

Bigla akong napatigil dahil may lalaking humarang sakin. Tumikhim ako para makuha ang atensyon niya. Lumingon siya and I gave him a killer look. Hindi uso sakin ang mag-excuse me. Nakakatamad magsalita.

Tumabi naman ang lalaki at nagdire-diretso ako sa paglalakad. Sawakas, matapos ang mahabang lakaran nakarating na rin ako sa registration kung saan nandoon ang ibang matataas na royal units na nangangsiwa don.

"Excuse me, may pila," mataray na sabi sakin nung babae sa registration. Hindi ko siya pinansin at pinakita ko sakanya yung birth certificate ko tsaka citizenship certificate.

"Miss, wag kang sumali kung simpleng pagpila lang, hindi mo magawa," pagpapatuloy niya pa. "Hindi ko tatanggapin yan."

"I hate waiting," balewalang sabi ko. Inuubos ng babaeng to ang pasensya ko.

"Alam mo," tumayo yung babae at dinuro-duro ako. "Dahil iniinis mo ko, hindi ka na pwedeng sumali dito. Kaya lumayas ka na."

That's it. Ubos na ang pasensya ko. Bitchy mode on.

“Are you going to take it?,” I gave her a death stare. “Or not?”

Wala naman siyang nagawa at naiinis na hinablot sakin yung dalawang certificate ko. After it’s done, tinapatan ko siya ng isang letter sa pagmumukha niya.

"A little advice, you should know the person you're talking to."

The next thing I knew, nakaluhod na siya sa harap ko.

Sumunod na rin ang iba pang tao sa registration pati ang mga sundalo. Nagtataka siguro yung mga wizard citizens kung bakit but I didn't bother explaining things.

Pinakita ko lang naman yung isang invitation letter na may pirma ni Princess Meteor (which is me) at may seal ng Sirius Royal Family. Having that kind of thing makes one person really important. Kaya sila nakaluhod.

Buti na lang pala at ginawa ko yun. May lusot ako ngayon.

Naglakad ako paalis sakanila. Hindi pa ako nakakalayo I announced something that surprised them, “By the way, I’m going to tell the king that your registration line is not organize as well as those soldiers who just keep on talking. And that you have a bitch lost in the registration area.”

Nginitian ko sila at pumasok na sa stadium. And that’s how you watch me do the bitchy work. It’s with class and poise.

~~~**~~~

Katulad ng napagplanuhan nila, the King started off with an introduction. Nagpasalamat siya sa mga sumali sa try-out and he was hoping that everyone could unleash their powers to reserve their own spot in the Games.

Nagsimula ang Selection Event. According to the king, may three levels itong kailangan lagpasan at habang papataas ng level, pahirap ito ng pahirap.

It’s a ‘last man standing’ thing. Matira matibay.

“Let’s start the first level,” sigaw ng Emcee. Inilabas nila ang isang malaking pabilog na stage at pinaakyat kami doon. Akalain mo yun? Nagkasya kami.

“To get to the next level,” muling kuha ng atensyon samin ng Emcee. “Just keep your feet on that stage for five minutes.”

Tumaas ang bilog na stage at nagsimula itong umikot. Pabilis ito ng pabilis hanggang sa gumewang gewang. Para kaming nakasakay sa isang flying saucer.

Unti-unti nang nahuhulog ang mga sumali. I guess this is one way to eliminate half of the contenders.

Napaatras ako nang biglang tumagilid yung stage. Damn. I’m not expecting this.

Lalo akong nataranta nang tuloy-tuloy ang pagtagilid ng stage. Yung mga wizards, gumamit na ng magic nila para manatiling nakatayo but it’s no use.

“Sht” natumba ako sabay nagpagulong-gulong. Great. Figure something out, stupid. Hindi ko naman pwedeng ilabas ang apoy ko dito. What am I going to do with it? Burn the whole stage down?

Mabilis kong kinuha yung dagger na hiniram ko kay Leona at itinusok ito sa stage. Just when the stage tilted 90 degrees and spun its hell out. At least I have something to hold on.

Isipin niyo na lang na nakalambitin ako habang nagpapaikot-ikot. Isn’t it great? –note the sarcasm-

Natapos ang five minutes at halos ¾ na lang ng sumali ang natira. Now, off to level 2.

“Hindi na natin patatagalin pa and here comes level 2. Cross the finish line,” biglang nagkaroon ng race track sa loob ng stadium. Napansin ko rin na may iba’t ibang traps na nakaimplant dito, which is not going to be easy for the other players.

For me? Nah. Don’t mind me. I’m cool.

“First 5o to cross the finish line will proceed to level 3. Good luck contestants,” sigaw ng emcee.

Pinatunog nila ang gong at nagsitakbuhan ang mga contestants. Sige. Kaya niyo yan. Cheer ko pa kayo.

Naiwan ako sa starting line, inaayos ko pa skateboard ko eh. I still have my time tho, why bother?

Nasa kalahati na ata yung iba at nakadaan na sila sa curve. Walang sinabing rules na bawal makipaglaban sa kapwa wizard kaya yung iba, ginagamitan ng powers para mapatalsik sa race. Great tactics.

Hindi ko talaga alam kung bakit sila nagmamadali. Kung sila, pacounter-clockwise ang race, ako clockwise. Nagskateboard lang ako papunta sa finish line, the other way around. Hindi ko sinunod ang racing track instead, I raced backwards. Mas shortcut to eh, kasi dito 10 meters lang ang ire-race mo. Yung buong racing track ata na nirace ng wizards, 1 kilometer na rin.

Wala namang sinabi bawal ang ganun, bakit pa sila magpapakahirap? It’s just a waste of energy.

Tsaka malinaw ang pagkakasabi, cross the finish line. Kaya ayun, umurong ako ng konti papalayo sa finish line and I crossed it. Madali lang diba?

“We have the first one to cross! 49 more!,” sigaw ng Emcee. Kahit siya nagulat eh. Chiihii~ hindi pa ako napagod. Ge, magpakahirap kayo dyan. Di kayo marunong mag-isip.

One motto in life: Have it the easy way ‘round.

Minutes passed at unti-unti nang lumagpas ang mga wizards. Tinitignan nila ako and they were asking why did I do that. I ignored them, I’m too lazy to explain. Basta pasok na ako sa level 3.

“For the third level, let’s have the monster fight. We will separate you into two groups. Both groups will face a Class-B monster. The team captain will pick the members of his team according to your performance. Let’s have the first group onstage shall we?”

Err.. anong group ba ako? Naglakad yung nasa unahan ko papunta sa stage so I supposed I’m in the first group. Yeah, whatever.

“Heh. The show-off kid is here,” nakatingin sakin ng masama yung lalaki.

“Tignan na lang natin kung anong magagawa niya dito,” segunda pa nung isa.

Ge, ganyanin niyo ko. Sunugin ko kayo lahat eh. -_-

I seriously don’t have the mood right now. Inatake nanaman ako ng pagkairita.

Nilabas na ng mga sundalo ang isang 8-foot-tall na one-eyed giant. Kinuha na rin ng mga wizards ang sandata nila habang nagset-up na agad ng barrier sa battle ground na kinatatayuan namin.

Without warning us, bigla na lang pinakawalan yung higante at nanghawi sa mga wizards. I tried to stay hidden, to avoid attacks and all. Kailangan munang mapag-aralan ang kilos ng higanteng to.

Pero syempre, joke lang yun. Masipag lang ang nag-aaral ng kilos ng higante. And I’m too lazy for that. Hindi pa ako nagpapakita dahil hindi pa ito ang tamang oras. ‘Cause once I already blow my first attack, I want all the attention focused on my own momentum.

Like the usual fighting style, gumamit ng mga iba’t ibang klase ng sandata ang mga wizards. Meron namang may common power katulad ng pagsummon ng mga hayop, like Alice’s power. Ang pinagkaiba lang ni Alice sakanila? She can summon at least 5 in one time. Hindi katulad ng sakanila na hanggang isa lang.

Meron din namang kakaiba katulad ng ‘Cream’ bazooka. Yeah, the guy spreads cream all over the place. Pero malakas ang impact nito kaya halos matumba-tumba ang one-eyed giant.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAH!~” sigaw nung higante tsaka niya pinagbabato ang mga wizards na parang laruan lang. He even jumped at the ground which made it shake like an earthquake. Nagsimula nang magwala yung halimaw.

Unti-unting tumatalsik yung mga wizard sa harap ng higante. Guess it’s time to show off.

Tinanggal ko yung tela sa sandatang binigay sakin ni Old Man. Susugod na sana ako kaya lang—

“Ano to? Magic Wand?” Hell is this. Isa siyang malaking staff na katulad ng kay Leona pero walang gem. Wala, staff lang talaga? Anong gagawin ko dito?

Hindi naman ako pwedeng gumamit ng kapangyarihan dito, baka makilala ako ni Astro. Ako lang ata ang gumagamit ng apoy.

And here I am, umaasa sa kapirasong stick na hindi ko alam kung paano gumagana. Great. -_-

Biglang umilaw ang staff at nagpalit-palit ito ng form. From sword to bow and arrow to dagger to spear to knife and it continues to change form.

Hindi kaya—

Napangiti ako. Old Man really knows what I like.

Sumugod ako sa cyclops habang hawak-hawak ang bago kong sandata. In just a snapped, naging espada ito with flames all over.

Hindi ko kasi matanggal yung apoy, kusang lumalabas ito sa sandata.

Nagslide ako pababa nang makitang hahawiin niya ako ng isang kamay niya. I slashed his belly from below kaya tumulo sakin ang green niyang dugo. Napaatras naman ang halimaw sa sakit. I took the chance and made a series of ‘flip-kick-punch’ in the air with his head. Hindi pa ako nakuntento at sumakay ako sa likod niya, sa may bandang batok and made him like a little pony.

Masyado ata akong nag-enjoy at hindi ko napansing gumalaw ang kamay niya at kinuha ako na parang manika na nakadikit sa likod niya. He threw me up in the air kaya’t tumama ako sa barrier which I found it really painful. Matigas din kasi ito with a little electricity all over.

“You damn Monster,” I yelled with irritation. Sino ba naman kasi ang hindi maiinis? Masakit kaya!

Lalong lumakas ang apoy sa espada ko. I ran towards the ugly looking shtface and gave a combo series of brutal kicks and punches ending up with one hell of a slash with a burning sword.

Now never ever mess with a short-tempered princess. Especially when controls fire.

~~~**~~~

“I hereby bestow you this insignia of power and strength, the pride of Sirius Empire. May you fulfill your duty as the members of team Sirius that will compete in the games of the stars. This insignia proves that you are worthy to fight and deserve the spot as a competitor in the event. May the odds of winning be in your favor and bring back the crown that was once lost.”

Tinatakan kami sa bandang pulso. Isang bituin na may nakacross na dalawang espada. Kusa nang nanatili tio dito at hindi na mabubura pa.

Muli kaming lumuhod sa tapat ng hari. “Good luck on your quest. May the stars guide you.”

Pinalakpakan kami ng buong manonood. Pati yung ibang wizards na natalo sa Selection Event.

Nakita kong nakangiti samin si Kuya Astro, pati na rin ang Meteor-like na si Leona.

Tinitigan ko ang insignia.

Meteor Flare Sirius is an official competitor in the Stella Royal Games.

And I’m going to make sure we will have the Stella Crown.