That's our 'sister'!

08

»» Seravina ««
»» Cedric ««
»» Aeryn ««

The blue neon light reflects on our eyes as we stare at the notification in front of us.

A new character has been added.

My eyes blurred for a moment before they focused on the person behind the notification. Holding a glass of champagne, my attention was on them.

Who the fuck is that guy?

Hindi lang ako ang nanonood sa kanila sa pagsayaw. Nang tumigil kami, hindi na nawala ang tingin niya kina ate Sera. Daphne, with her usual dark aura, stared at the guy with dark circled eyes while drinking wine. No light could be seen.

Knowing her, she's definitely telling herself that she'll kill that guy. This woman is no priestess. 

Kusang napahigpit ang pagkakahawak ko sa baso kasabay ng pagkunot ng noo nang makita ang pag-angat ng kamay ni ate Sera. Biglang may gumalaw sa sikmura ko. I think the champagne is hitting in, I'm suddenly not well.

"Ced." Malalim na boses ni Daphne ang narinig ko. Napatingin ako sa posisyon niya. Kahit hindi niya pa sabihin, alam ko na ang gusto niyang iparating.

"You don't have to tell me," I answered, putting my glass down.

Despite the dozens of pairs dancing, I went straight to them.

It really pisses me off. I didn't know I was this protective of our sis Sera since this never happened before. Yes. It's because we treat each other as siblings. I couldn't bear to see ate Sera away from us.

Naging blangko ang isipan ko, huli kong natagpuan ang sarili sa harap nila, marahang hawak-hawak ang kamay ni ate Sera at mariin sa lalaki.

He was surprised to see me too. Despite not seeing his full face because of his mask, I feel like he's mocking me.

"Excuse me, but keep off your hands of her. She's not someone you should even touch." 

I tried to be calm, to be respectful as much as possible. I'm still a prince. But seeing his lips curve pissed me more.

"Oh? I didn't know I needed his highness' permission to ask a lady for a dance," he scoffed. "Still, I didn't see anyone else asking for your permission to dance their partners though?"

He didn't try to hide his sarcasm. Isa na 'tong pagbabastos sa maharlika at pwede ko siyang ipakulong sa ginagawa niya. Who even is he to have this confidence? A noble? A neighboring prince?

No matter who he is, he's not someone who can go toe to toe with me.

"P-Prince Cedric." Narinig ko ang maharang boses ni Ate Sera, doon lumambot ang ekspresyon ko. Kasunod nito ay ang pagtapik ng lalaki sa kamay ko.

As if I wasn't there, the guy gently took ate Sera's hands and kissed the back of it.

"Well then, the prince is here. Until our red strings intertwine again, my Vina." He winked, it grossed me. I couldn't hide my expression, I'm sure ate Sera saw how I winced.

I clicked my tongue as we watched him leave. "Is he what I think he is, ate Sera?" Kahit naiirita, napatanong ako.

Also looking at him as he walked away, she nodded. "I'm not quite sure . . . but yes. I think he's the new character the system mentioned."

What is the system doing? Putting a new character . . .

"Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren't you with Daphne?" Natauhan ako nang magtanong si ate Sera. Doon ako bumalik sa katinuan.

"A-Ah, it's time for our meeting," I said what first came to my mind.

She gently smiled. "Oh, I see. But Cedric . . ." She looked at me sincerely. "I appreciate you looking out for me, but you should keep in mind that I'm Seravina, the most hated character. You shouldn't always come between me and someone."

Natigilan ako sa sinabi niya. 

I know that, of course, I know that. Ako mismo ang nagsasabi kay Daph na umayos kapag nasa harap kami ng maraming mga mata . . . pero hindi ko rin alam bakit ko 'yon ginawa at sinabi. I was pissed . . .

Is it because he's someone new? Is it because we don't know him? Or maybe because I'm too protective of our sister Sera? Daphne would've done it too. I'm sure anyone would've done it, not just me.

My eyes looked down in defeat. "I'm sorry, ate Sera . . ."

She smiled, a smile she always showed. Since we were young, since she treated us as her siblings. 

"Come on, don't apologize, Ced." She softly chuckled. "Go first. I'll follow you."

I nodded and followed her. Kaswal ko siyang dinaanan, kung sakaling may nakatingin sa 'min. Ilang metro rin niya 'kong pinauna bago siya sumunod. I glanced where Daphne is who's watching us, she nodded as if she knew where we're going.

It's time to meet in the space. 

Soon, the bright ball turned into a dim hallway. Only the moonlight peeking on the big windows serves as our light. Still maintaining her distance, ate Sera is following me. It wasn't long 'til I reached the familiar door, with familiar voices talking loud enough for me to hear from the outside.

I heaved a sigh, realizing who they were, followed by my shaking head. Binuksan ko ang pinto para makita ang tama kong hinala.

"Huh?! Why is it my fault that the queen is here?!" Aeryn shouted, she's too close to Daphne enough to exchange their faces.

"That's your job as a low-key supporting character, dimwit! You should've known! You're a noble!" Daphne shouted back.

"Then, shouldn't be your fault?! Your status is higher than mine! You're a priestess!"

"A priestess doesn't go to noble meetings, idiot!"

Eyelids straight, I walked past them and said what I always say, "Just kiss already," aniko dahilan para malipat sa 'kin ang nanlilisik nilang mga mata—na kaagad ding nagbago nang mapagtanto kung sino ang kasama ko.

"Sis Sera!" they both said in chorus as they greeted her. Nagpatuloy lang ako sa paglalakad at umupo sa bakanteng upuan. 

Katapat ko ang lagi kong naabutan na nakahilata rito. 

"Just like puppies, mga babae talaga," Wren commented, chuckling. 

I looked at him, then crossed my legs. "Don't act like you're not wagging your tail when you see ate Sera," I answered. I took a glance at my side to see the third person rushing towards ate Sera. "And it's not only the girls."

Wren chuckled as he looked at the other man rushing towards ate Sera. Oh, please. Kade is not even trying to hide it. I can't believe that ate Sera haven't realized it 'til now.

Still, it made me wonder. I was fine with Kade acting like that to ate Sera . . . maybe because he wasn't that serious? But with that new character . . .

"Now, we don't have much time . . . let's talk about what happened to the system." Kade's voice snapped me back. Napaangat ang tingin ko at napaayos ako ng upo. Nagsiupuan ang lahat sa mga bakanteng upuan.

With Wade in front of me, beside him is Aeryn, both sitting on a solo sofa. I'm sitting on one as well, so is Kade beside me. Daphne and ate Sera are sitting together on a bigger one. With that, we started our conversation.

"First off, let's talk about the elephant in the room," Kade started, his tone is deep and serious. Like his character in the book, different from how he acts in front of ate Sera.

"An ugly elephant," Daphne commented, rolling his eyes.

"Hmm, I don't know about that. My eyes don't lie, I know a handsome man like me," Wren responded, making Daphne and Aeryn wince.

"Gay."

Napabuntong-hininga ako na sinabayan ni Kade. Muli siyang nagsalita.

"Another character has been added. We don't know any information about him, if he's also a secondary character or an extra. We need to gather information about him," ani Kade. Napatingin siya kay Wren. "Since you know your thing, we'll leave that to you, Wren."

Wren smirked. "Is it my time to shine?"

Daphne groaned. "Argh, that extra definitely has something to do with the glitch!"

"Right. He's either the result of the glitch, or the reason behind it." Aeryn supported Daphne's answer.

I only listened to them, time by time glancing at ate Sera. Seryoso rin siyang nakikinig.

"That's why we need to gather information about him. We might be able to know the cause of this glitch and how to fix it," sagot ni Kade. "Now, we need to be careful. Unlike the script and original plot, the queen is already making her move." He then glanced at ate Sera.

"We don't know what she's up to. And we don't know what's going to happen next-"

A cough made Kade stop talking. A cough made me lose my eyes on him. A cough made my heart skip a beat . . . for more than seconds. 

We all looked at her, who suddenly coughed. Parang bumagal ang takbo ng oras na kabaliktaran ng kung gaano kabilis namilog ang mga mata ko at ang bilis kong pagtayo at pagtakbo.

My body automatically moved without thinking.

Why? Why are you coughing blood?! Was it from the wine?! What happened?! 

Before she collapsed and before anyone else reacted, I was already holding her.

"DAPHNE!" I held her, she's holding her hand full of blood. She continued coughing, and blood continued flowing.

A situation that never happened before unless it's a scene. A situation that is real. A situation where I don't know what to do.

Nanginginig ang mga kamay ko, nangangatog ang labi. Namumutla ang babaeng hawak-hawak ko. 

Sa kabila ng patulog na paglabas ng dugo sa bibig niya, kahit ako ang kaharap, sa iba siya unang tumingin. Her eyes went to the other woman who's also pale. Bumuka ang bibig niya na nilabasan pa lalo ng dugo, pero pinilit niyang magsalita.

"SIS SERA, RUN!"

╭ ─┉─ • ─┉─ ╮

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