Kabanata XII
Memories

***

CLEOBELLE / SINCLAIR

"Sinclair! What happened? The Imperial guards are looking all around for you," Catherine asked, the moment I got inside her room.

I grinned playfully. "How did the Emperor react?"

"Oh he was furious! The time when the ball began, snow suddenly covered the ballroom and his wig flew around the air. It must be humiliating for him," she narrated, making me laugh.

"I should've seen that," I giggled.

"Nakakatawa sigurong panoorin ang galit na pagmumukha ng panot ng Emperador," dagdag ko pa.

Nailing na lamang doon si Catherine at napahilot sa kanyang sintido.

"I heard the ball will still continue?" I asked.

Catherine nodded her head.

"Yeah, tomorrow. So we still have to stay on this cruise.

Nalukot ang mukha ko doon. "Dapat ba ay palubugin ko na lamang ang barko?" bulong ko sa aking sarili.

"Maybe I should just exterminate that damn crown prince?" I added.

Sa tuwing kaarawan na lang kasi niya ay nangyayari ito. Kapag hindi na idinadaos iyon ay hindi na masusunod ang nakasaad sa libro.

"Hey that's treason, you'll get in trouble so don't say that out loud," Catherine pointed out.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I could even shout it if I want to and no one has the power to stop me," I hissed.

Nailing na lamang ito.

"Catherine," I smiled when I thought of something.

"Do you want to be the Baroness?" I asked.

Nangunot ang noo niya doon.

"You know that I can't. He may have favored me because of how we manipulated my siblings to keep doing stupid things, but in the end, he'll still choose Lorca—"

I cut her off. "I'm asking if you want to be the Baroness."

Hindi siya nakasagot doon.

"Do you not want to aim higher? Do you think marrying someone is your sole purpose to this f*cked up family that you have?" I grinned.

"It won't be accepted by society," she sighed.

"I know your ambition better than anyone Catherine. I know how foolish Lorcan is and Compared to you? You'll be a better ruler than him. You can make your lives better in that hell hole," I stated.

"How can I do that?" seryoso niyang tanong.

"Simple lang," ngiti ko.

I paused for a moment while looking at the bright moon. "We have to get rid of the Baron and Lorcan," I chuckled.

Nanlaki ang mata niyang namutla habang nakatitig sa akin. Nanginig ang kanyang kalamnan at napayakap sa kanyang sarili.

"I—I can't. I'll go to prison once I was revealed to be the one behind their death if ever," she stammered.

Natawa ako doon. Hindi man lang niya itinanago ang kagustuhan niyang patayin ang sarili niyang ama at kapatid.

"It's good enough that you wanted them dead. You're just scared of the consequences," I shrugged.

"Well who wouldn't? Once they die, my mother and I will have a better life. My mother won't be miserable anymore—but killing them? I can't be the Baroness once found out I did it to my own family," she sighed.

"I didn't say anything about you murdering them,'' I shrugged.

"I—ibig mo bang sabihin ay ikaw ang tatapos sa kanila?" tanong pa niyang ikinailing ko.

Naupo ako at pumangalumbaba. "Parang ganoon na nga, pero hindi," ngiti ko.

"Ha?" naguguluhan niyang sagot.

"Just cooperate and act on your role properly, Catherine. That's all I need you to do," I smiled at her sweetly.

'That's a one creepy smile,' the ice spirit queen, Elsa said using telepathy.

'Truly wicked, my King,' Olaf agreed.

The rest of my spirit laughed and it's annoying, so I just blocked all of them.

I have three more years. Three years and I'll be able to find out what fate awaits me.

Maaaring ganoon pa din ang kahihinatnan ko, ngunit sa ngayon ay gusto kong masagot ang mga katanungan ko.

***

The next day, the chaos had already subsided. All the imperial guards are high on alert, thoroughly checking everyone on the ship.

It's just a little bit of snow and they're already overreacting. What more if it's a blizzard?

They're a bunch of snowflakes.

Nailing na lang ako. Nangako ako kay Elsa na hindi ako iinom ngayong gabi.

Siguro ay kaunti lang?

"You can wear this since your dress from last night is a mess," Catherine stated as she handed me one of her dresses.

It's an elegant champagne-colored silk fishtail dress that gracefully hugs my curves. It has a cowl neckline, designed with a thin silver strap and an off-shoulder style with a flowing split-sleeve.

"It's beautiful right? I actually bought that with your first dress. I feel like it would really suit you," she giggled.

"You have a good taste," I commented

Malapad siyang napangiti nang marinig ang mga katagang lumabas sa aking bibig.

"Don't think about those words too much," I hissed.

She shook her head at me. "Why wouldn't I? It's not everyday I'll receive a compliment from someone like you," she grinned.

Nagsalubong ang kilay ko doon. "Anong akala mo sa akin? Puro na lang kasamaan ang lumalabas sa bibig?" iritang sambit ko.

"Magagalit ka ba kung sasabihin kong oo?" pigil ang ngiting sabi niya.

Napa-irap ako doon. "Gusto mo bang isumpa kita?" iritang sambit ko na nagpatikom sa bibig niya.

"Ang sabi ko ay puro magagandang bagay lang ang lumalabas sa bibig mo. Masyado ka namang nagsusungit," nguso nito.

Inirapan ko na lang siya saka sa isang iglap ay nakapag-ayos na para sa pagdiriwang mamaya.

Iniwan ko na siya doon at lumabas sa naturang silid.

Ngunit natigilan ako nang makita kung sino ang nasa labas ng pintuan.

"Vespera," the woman called my mother's name.

"Baroness, what are you doing here?" I asked.

She seems to think that I'm Vespera. I wonder what she knows? I can hear her thoughts. It's usually messy due to her mental illness.

However, it seems like her thoughts are in line today. She seems to know something avout Vespera. . . 

I secretly surrounded us with a barrier so no one would be able to hear us.

"Do you really intend to kill Sinclair?" she asked directly. "I remained silent when you cursed the child of our friend, but to kill your own child is unforgivable Vespera!"

Tinignan ko siya diretso sa kanyang mga mata habang patuloy siya sa pagsasalita.

"Kapag nalaman ng kanyang ama na kinitil mo ang kanyang anak ay tiyak na hindi ka niya titigilan!" sambit niyang nagpatigil sa akin.

"What do you mean? The Baron does not care about that child at all. You even lost your child due to the affair," I stated.

"Nakalimutan mo na ba? Ang asawa ko ang dahilan kaya nawala sa akin ang anak ko! Dahil sa kanyang pang aabuso at pananakit sa akin. Hindi totoong nagkaroon kayo ng relasyon dahil palabas lang natin iyon."

Natigilan ako sa kanyang rebelasyon.

'Kung hindi si Baron ang ama mo ay sino?' nagtatakang tanong ni Elsa sa aking isipan.

'Wala na akong pakialam pa doon,' sagot ko.

"Mabuti pa ay magpahinga ka na, Baroness," sambit ko.

Nagsalubong ang kilay niya doon. "Hindi! Sabihin mo sa akin kung nasaan si Sinclai—"

Hindi niya na natapos pa ang sasabihin nang bigla na lamang siyang mawalan ng malay.

Gamit ang aking kapangyarihan ay nagteleport kami pabalik sa kanyang silid habang ang Baron ay abala sa pambabae sa malayong parte ng barko.

"It seems like I have to delve deeper into your memory to find out," I whispered to myself as I touched her forehead to see what she knew about Vespera's past.

Baroness Melissa's memory is a mess. There's some memories that seem to be permanently erased. I can still feel Vespera's influence in her mind. Some memories are even manipulated.

"Vespera is very careful yet she still seems to care about Melissa that she didn't fully erase nor manipulate all her precious memories with her," the ice spirit queen commented since she can also see what I'm currently seeing.

Melissa met Vespera when she was in the academy, together with one more named Athena.

"Vespera's aim is to hide herself from the claws of the empire, being the last witch that she is at the time," I stated while watching Melissa's memories.

So she pretended to be an ordinary countryside noble, studying in that academy.

Although Vespera is wicked, she became close with Melissa and that other faceless girl in Melissa's memory. To the point that Vespera allowed them to live despite finding out her true identity. Melissa and Athena accepted her as she is, sometimes they even helped her with her wicked deeds.

"Talk about blind love," Elsa commented.

"It seems like I know who the other girl is now, although her face is forgotten by Melissa, I found some clues when Melissa and Vespera attended that friend's wedding," I stated.

"Who's that woman?" Elsa asked.

"She's the previous northern dutchess. The wedding was held in the northern dukedom in Glacialis. Everything was fine but after that, most of Melissa's memory of that woman was erased or manipulated," I revealed.

Napa-isip doon si Elsa.

"It seems like she did something unforgivable to Vespera to the point that she bestowed a powerful curse upon her once close friend's son—Aslan," she stated.

"Other than that, I couldn't find any other clues anymore. There's not even any leads about who my father is since Vespera erased it," I shrugged.

"I did see a glimpse of her being obsessed to a man whom I've recognized as the King of Aurorium, but it's impossible that he's your father. I would definitely feel it if so, but there's no bond between you two," Elsa uttered, making me nod my head at her.

"Indeed," I agreed. "Since Vespera couldn't have him in the end, she cursed that man's child due to her jealousy and Melissa even helped her by giving her information. She can't really say no to my mother since Vespera is her only friend aside from the duchess," I added.

"Vespera cursed Aurorium's princess and after that, she cursed Aslan. She was weakened after bestowing two powerful curses that drained her life force and her remaining magic," Elsa continued.

"Which is why after years of hiding, while she's pregnant, she ran to her only remaining friend and the most stupid one, Melissa Emberwood, for help. The rest is history," I said.

"At least we've found some clues and even managed to see some events. Why didn't you think of looking into Melissa's memory before?" the ice spirit queen asked.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Melissa's mind is too messy due to her illness, so it's annoying to read it," I shrugged.

Nang makuha ko ang kailangan ko ay itinigil ko na ang pagsilip sa mga ala-ala ni Baroness Melissa.

"What's your plan now?" my spirit summon, Anna, asked.

"I'll have to personally find more of that history, inside the northern  dukedom and if there's other way to stop remove that curse. While I'm at it, I might visit Aurorium as well," I shrugged.

"How would you find information from the dukedom? Are you gonna infiltrate it again?" my spirit summon, Kristoff asked.

Napangisi ako doon habang umaktong nag-iisip.

"You could say I'll just act according to my role. . ."

Makahulugan akong napangiti doon.