LUCY
"Where the hell are we?" takang tanong ni Chaerin habang inilibot ang tingin sa buong paligid. I did the same, I examined the strange place.
Nakatayo kami sa isang malawak na grass field. The grass are not green but yellow, the whole place is in yellow tint. Ang sikat ng araw ay kalmado, maaliwalas ang bughaw na kalangitan, malamig ang simoy ng hangin, mga ibong malayang nagsisiliparan habang ang mga huni nilang umaalingaw-ngaw sa buong paligid na nagpapakalma sa buong sistema ko. This is surreal.
The whole field has no end, I can see tress from afar but not the end of the field. I can't see anything but tress, birds, sun, clouds, the blue sky, and the yellow field. The wind blew again. This place is peaceful, calming, and somehow magical. It feels like we are inside in a peaceful yellow field painting.
It's funny how the place is contrasting to what we looked right now. Who looked like who came straight from hell and dug up all the way up here to this surreal place.
"Nasaan tayo beh?"
Napalingon ako kay Chaerin.
"Beh?" ulit ko sa tinawag niya sa'kin. "What the fuck?"
Tumawa siya sa naging reaction ko.
"Narinig ko lang na tinatawag ng mga ibang studyante yung kaibigan nila ng ganoon."
Nakangiwi na akong nakatingin sa kanya.
"Don't call me that." I said full of disgust. Hindi bagay sa kanya, tunong tambay siya sa kanto.
"So nasaan nga tayo?" balik niyang tanong. I turned my gaze back to where we are standing.
"I don't know. The moment I vanished I was thinking of my dorm room."
"You teleported?" takang tanong niya kaya nilingon ko siya.
"Yes. Nagteleport ka rin diba? Baka ikaw nagdala sa'tin dito."
Kumunot ang noo niya.
"Ha? I didn't teleport. Akala ko sinama mo lang ako sa grand exit mo matapos mong magpaalam kila Annya in a most extravaganza-telenobela in a Russian language-grand exit." saad niya na may Russian accent pa sa dulo.
Lalong kumunot ang noo ko sa sinabi niya.
"Beh di kita maintindihan." lumaki ang mata niyang nakatingin sa'kin.
"Beh ako din!"
"Akala ko ikaw nagdala satin dito? Like you meddled my teleportation and brought us here." saad ko.
Kumunot ang noo ni Chaerin, puno ng pag tataka.
"Huuuhhh? Dude I can't teleport rememberrr?" she pointed out, exaggerating the r sound and the 'huh' reaction.
"Eh potangina nasaan tayo? Clearly hindi to dorm room namin."
"Aba malay ko, nasama lang ako sa grand exit mo! Kasi may pa vanish-vanish pa eh pwede namang mag walk out na lang. Taena nasa ibang dimensyon na yata tayo. Grand exit gone wrong!"
What the fuck. Napahilamos ako sa mukha ko. Why do I have to suffer this whirlwind emotions, this fucking sitwuation? Parang kanina lang halos lamunin na ako ng galit at poot kila Annya. Namanhid na ako sa sakit and I can feel all my emotions slipping away aside from hatred and now this? Acting like nothing happened. Looking at Chaerin who's staring at me with unexplained face and her wide eyes open, over reacting like it's the end of the world.
Fuck is this normal? I still haven't recovered from what happened earlier and looks like I have no time to compose all my emotions because we are now fucking lost in the middle of a fucking yellow field!
"Well you can cast a spell, I'm sure you can also teleport, so maybe this is your doing."
Lalong niyang nilakihan ang mata niya at tinuro ang sarili.
"Now you're questioning my ability."
"Pwede ba? Ibalik mo nga sa normal ang mata mo! Mukhang kang tarsier gaga! Bigyan kita ng kawayan diyan eh."
Her facial expression went back to normal. Thank Goodness. Muli niyang inikot ang paningin sa buong paligid at maya-maya aya napasabunot sa sariling buhok na tila stress na stress.
"I'm starting to like this peaceful place but I'm still freaking out. Where the hell are seriously." kalmado niyang sambit taliwas sa ginagawa niya.
Hinila ko ang kamay niya na nakasabunot sa buhok at ipinwesto ito sa magkabilang gilid niya. Ako naaawa sa anit at buhok niya niya. Papangit to pag nakalbo, malapad na nga noo kalbo pa.
"We can just get out, simple as that." I suggested.
"Why the fuck are we panicking when we can just get out." I added.
Napatango naman si Chaerin. I held her wrist. Nag-p-protesta naman siyang napatingin sa'kin.
"You dimwit, I can't teleport!"
"Then why are you here?"
"I don't know! Pag nag teleport ka mamatay ako!"
"Don't be so OA, hindi ka mamatay, teleportation won't kill you!"
Pinanlakihan niya ulit ako ng mata. Pag ako napikon sa mata niya dudukutin ko ito gamit ang daliri ko.
"Exhaustion will kill me biatch, who knows kung gaano kalayo ang distansya nitong lugar nato sa Academy? Baka milya-milyang layo! Mamatay pa ako!"
I let out a loud exhalation.
"Baho ah." komento niya.
"Tangina mo naman." bwelta ko at inambahan ko siya ng suntok kaya bahagya siyang umatras kaya tuluyan ko ng binitawan ang pulso niya.
"Alam mo kung takot ka mamatay, cast a spell then. May spell naman siguro na magpapabalik sa atin sa Academy diba?"
Hindi makapaniwala niya akong tinitigan. Why is she always looking at me like that?!
"Nadulas ka na Chaerin. You know what you're so bad at lying after you get caught. Spill the beans already. You're not just a plain healer but a witch."
Umirap siya sa'kin.
"Augh! Ok fine! I'm a warlock not a witch, magkaiba yun." mariing sabi niya.
"Yeah like the difference between tomato and tomahto." I sarcastically said.
Inirapan niya ako.
"Now go cast a spell so we can get out from this peaceful place that's pulling me to stay."
Tinitigan ako ni Chaerin bago magsalita.
"Now on the second thought. Can we just stay here for a sec? The whole academy is wreck."
"That rhymes, akala ko nag r-rap ka." huminga ako ng malalim at tinapunan ng tingin ang buong paligid.
Ah... I want to live a place like this. Peaceful, far from all the chaos. Nakita kong umupo si Chaerin sa lupa kaya tumabi na rin ako sa kanya.
"I swear to God, hindi ako ang nagdala sa atin dito." she blurted out.
"Wala namang masama kung ikaw ang nagdala sa'tin dito o hindi. This place is nice."
Malayo ang tingin ko sa buong kapatagan, this place made me forget the pain, emotionally and physically. Habang lumilipas ang mga minuto ay unti-unti akong kumakalma dahil sa lugar na ito.
"Whoever bought us here, I want to thank that person. This place is safe haven." dagdag ko habang nakatingin sa asul na kalangitan.
"What are your plans now? Siguradong paparusahan ka, patong-patong ba naman na akusasyon sayo. They will surely punish you and I have this feeling na mabigat ang parusa ibibigay sayo. This is treason we're talking about, what they're point at you is treason. Kahit na anak ka pa ng pinakamakapangyarihang pamilya, they will still not hold back."
Mahina akong tumawa.
"Treason..." I muttered. "The punishment for treason is death." I added and the laughed without humor.
Pieces by pieces an idea formed on my mind. So that's they're plan? Talagang ginawa akong panakip butas sa katrydoran nila.
"Ginawa nila akong scapegoat ng mga trydor na nagpapasok sa kanila sa White Land. They made me look like the bad guy, they manipulated the situations, played me for a fool. Ginawa nila yung kay Margarret as a gaslight to my loyalty then nagsimula ng magalit sa'kin lahat and now all of them are questioning me, of which sides I'm taking. And then the attacked happened, the Queen showed up telling lies in front of us..."
Hindi ko napigilan ang pag tawa ko nang unti-unti kong mabuo ang plano nila sa'kin.
"Pinalabas niyang ako ang nagpapasok sa kanila para hindi maisip ng lahat na may trydor sa White Land. Pinalabas nilang binenta ko ang White Land sa kanila, they accused me of treason. Alam nilang di sila mananalo sa laban simula pa lang. Ang sakupin ang White Land was not really their intention. Inatake nila tayo para ibintang sa akin lahat ng sisi."
"Bakit?"
Nilingon ko si Chaerin.
"They want to get rid of me because I am now the next line in throne. Alam nilang lahat na hindi ako papanig sa Dark Land, that my loyalty belongs to White Land. If they can't put me on their side then they will resort on getting rid of me. Pag nawala ako maipapasa ulit ang trono kay Marru but the problem is, ang Marru na nasa White Land ay peke."
"Pag naipasa sa peke ang trono then it will be easy for Dark Land to ruled White Land. They got the hold of the throne and sooner or later that fake Marru will sell White Land to Dark Land once he climbed up to the throne."
"Tangina ang talino." dagdag ko sabay tawa habang si Chaerin ay hindi makapaniwalang nakatingin sa'kin.
"But the other thing is, alam ng Hari ang plano ng Dark Land sa peke..." I trailed. Nilingon ko si Chaerin na nag hihintay sa idudgtong ko.
"So there will be a huge chance that they will prolong the Kings's reign."
"That's a good thing right?"
Umiling ako.
"It's just a band-aid solution. Maraming trydor sa White Land, they're not that strong I know but they can manipulate things, people, situations. I've already experienced it first-handed. Sooner or later, they will attack the White Land again. Mr. Parker will no longer be a help since he's a dog of Nakahara at dahil wala ng Nakahara hindi na siya tutulong."
Huminga ako ng malalim bago nagpatuloy.
"Alam mo ba kung bakit nila ako binalik dito? Kung bakit nila ako minulat sa mundong to?"
Itinapon ko ang tingin pabalik sa walang hangganang kapatagang nasa harapan namin.
"To be their human shield." I continued.
"What?" di makapaniwala niyang saad.
I scoffed.
"Hasherine can't handle another war, alam nilang aatake ulit ang Dark Land after the great war. Rulers of Dark Land are so obsessed of the idea of ruling both Lands, the Hasherine knew about it. They are already preparing for another war before the Oracle foretold it. The King knew that White Land has no chance of winning 'caused the whole Land is outnumbered, so they grab the chance of bringing me back here to help them as a Nakahara, as a fucking pureblood. Pinalabas na responsibilidad kong magpakaala-darna but the Nakahara and Walter are no longer part of the whole Immortal City, so actually helping White Land is a choice and not a responsibility."
"But I accepted it anyway. Kung kayang tumulong, bakit hindi tumulong diba? Hindi ko na sinabi ang tunkol sa choice and responsibility. I really wanted to help actually, gusto ko rin mamuhay sa mundo kung saan sa tingin ko ay nararapat ako. Sinabi nila sa akin ang tungkol sa responsibilidad ko kuno bilang isang pureblood, I accepted it, wholeheartedly. I hide my dark magic when I discovered it kasi ayokong mag panic at gumawa ng malaking gulo. Tinago ko ito habang hindi ko pa lubusang nakokontrol. I'm not hiding it because I'm planning some real shit or what."
"I know it's just a help, they just needed my help but deep inside me... alam kong hindi lang simpleng tulong ang mangyayari. Once they discovered my real strength they will use me at tuluyan na akong magiging human shield. Gamit dito, gamit doon, pag pumalpak ang sisi sa'kin."
"Are you talking about the Hasherine?"
Umiling ako.
"I'm talking about everyone. They will all just use me for their personal benefit façade in a simple help."
Nilingon ko si Chaerin.
"Let's say na mawawala nga ako, ano sa tingin mo ang mangyayari?"
"They will find the real Marru, pag nawala ka then Marru will be their last solution."
Mahina akong tumawa sa sinagot niya.
"Noong nagdesisyon silang gawin akong human shield nandito na si Marru. Marru's existence doesn't create any difference. Again, let's say I'm gone now, the throne will pass down again to that fake one, the king knew about that imposter so he'll prolong his reign, since I'm gone, wala ng human shield kaya sooner or later the Dark Land will attack again and this time, mananalo na sila. Ganda ng plano nila no? Pag nawala ko, domino effect na and bottomline Dark Land will rule both Lands."
"Fuck."
"They just have to get rid of me."
"Who told you about this?" di makapaniwalang tanong niya.
Nilingon ko siya at tinitigan sa mata.
"No one, I just figured it out." gulat siyang nakatulala sa akin. Isang ngiti ang sumilay sa labi ko.
"Am I right traitor?"
Her face went pale and I smirked.
Things went fast like a blur. I am now smiling at Chaerin as I pinned her down, holding both of her hands and pointing dagger at her neck.
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, you people should take that quote seriously, and you think you can fool me? No baby. Certainly no."