LUNA

9: Talk With The Prince

Sinadya kong magtagal sa bath chamber para mainis ang Prince Taddeo na yon sa kakahintay. At kung magalit nga siya nang tuluyan may palusot naman ako— I'm a female, and it's pretty normal for a female to take her time cleaning her body. Nonetheless, I'am a witch in trials and the last time I took a decent bath inside a bathroom was a very long time ago. You can guess my age at that time. I was 8. Before doing the tradition, the most vivid memory I have with my mom was inside our bathroom. Her eyes were blank. Her lips pursed. Her facial expression dull. Hindi ko alam kung napipilitan ba siyang paliguan ako o ano. Bawat kaluskus niya sa balat ko may dalang galit— or ganon lang talaga siya? I can still remember the sore pain while she bathed me. Sobrang hapdi ng balat ko non, pero kesa sa umiyak, kesa sa umangal, kesa sa magalit, tahimik ko lang siyang pinapanood.

I don't hold any grudges against my mom. Even though her last words were enough to make me understand she was just forced to have me for the benefits and that she wouldn't have taken care of me if it wasn't her duty at all.

Mag thir-30 minutes na ata akong nakalubog dito sa tubig. Not that I care about the time, I would want to stay here until morning as much as possible just for the prince to get out of my room. I can still smell him laying down on my— the bed. Umahon na ako kahit ayoko pa. The bath chamber was 1/4 of the room outside. Creamy tiles made the floor, and the creamy walls were concrete. A cylinder sink at the far end of the bath chamber with the broken mirror above it. White toilet bowl attached to the left wall, and the huge tub placed on the opposite side. Beside the toilet bowl, may body mirror dito na hindi ko sinira.

Kinuha ko ang twalyang naka sampay lang sa gilid ko sabay pinunasan ang buong katawan. Naglakad ako sa harapan ng salamin para makita ang buong sarili—- I thought I might remember my mom's face more clearly now after looking at myself, but all I see is a plain witch with no glow.

I am a petite girl, but my height is considered to be average, not shorter than 5'3 and not taller than 5'5. I seem to own a fair skin tone that suited the pale color of my pink hair. The pink of my hair and the pink of my eyes are different in shades if you'd look closely enough. My hair's a baby pink, lighter and paler than the blossoming rose pink of my eyes. Though, even though I have pink hair, itim ang kulay ng mga pilik mata't kilay ko. I have no logic to that, but it's not like I have to find the reason why it's like this. My hair parts in the middle too— I simply don't like it parted on the right or on the left. I have a small face structure. Matangos ang maliit kong ilong at makapal ang labi ko. And my body—I own a petite frame. My breasts were not that large but they weren't that small either. My waist is small, but my hips are wide. I slightly tilted my head to get a better view of myself.

I love everything about me, even though I sometimes feel insecure about my height and the size of my breasts— I never hated myself for it. If I can snap necks and eat as freely as I want to then I am in no position to be insecure. I have my own beauty despite the flaws, and I will be proud of this face and body regardless of what they say about it.

"Play smart, Sahar" I whispered at the reflection in front of me. "And keep on snapping their necks" I tried to smile but ended up grinning painfully.

Umirap na lamang ako at kinuha na ang bathrobe na naka sabit sa pintuan. Binalot ko ito saakin— remember the bargain— at lumabas.

"I only gave you 10 minutes, but since you knelt, I'm going to ignore the extended 15 minutes of your bathing" Umupo ang prinsipe sa kama at tinignan uli ako mula ulo hanggang paa.

I let him check me out. It'll be a waste of time to even yell at him right now. Hindi ko siya pinansin at tinugon ang atensyon ko sa mga bagong amoy na dumating. Food. Clothes. Human. Kumunot noo ko sa naamoy. This is not one of the guards, and it smells like a woman. "Who's the lady outside?" I asked impassively, making my way to the food placed atop the wooden table.