CHAPTER 11.3
Sinking LowSELENE couldn’t understand the reason why Lucas and Jonas chose to stay despite how she pushed them away. She could feel their presence from afar. They were keeping their distance but she could feel them watch her. Lihim siyang napaismid sa tuwing mararamdaman niya ang presensya ng mga ito. If they stayed because of that damned ‘lost vampire princess’ thing, it’s of no use. These two should realize that Selene doesn’t accept the truth about her.
She’s just an ordinary girl who wants to live a normal life—no, an average life with her mother. But sadly, Helen already passed away from saving her.
But sometimes, despite her grudge towards Lucas, her mind won’t stop bothering her. While she mourned for her mother’s death, her eyes wept, and while her heart screamed in pain—her mind would sometimes disturb her.
A
CHAPTER 11.4 Disrespect IN THE midst of mourning for her loss, Selene’s lamentation was disrupted by people’s nonstop gossips. At first, she intended to ignore their conversation as they may only be discussing nonsense matters. However, as their murmurs got louder, she discerned a few words they have spoken—and it caused her heart to pound loudly in her chest, her eyes widened, and nervous slowly crept in to embrace her entire being. “Anong ginagawa ng mga kabalyero rito?” pag-uusisa ng isa sa mga bisita niya. “Mukhang may hinahanap sila. Kanina pa nila pinag-uusapan si Helen.” “May ginawa ba sina Helen kaya nandito sila? ‘Wag mo sabihing ‘di pala aksidente ang pagkamatay ni Helen, may kinalaman pala sa kaharian?” Selene, despite being sunk low by the pain of losing her mother, still had the strength to rise from her seat to turn to t
CHAPTER 11.5 Patience is Virtue “THE Princess hates you? Aba, masamang balita nga ‘yan! Anong ginawa mo sa Mahal na Prinsesa, Prinsipe Lucas?” Ito ang unang reaksyon na ibinungad sa kanya ni Merlin nang matapos silang mag-usap tungkol sa kasalukuyang estado ni Prinsesa Selene.That reaction made all emotion painted on Lucas’ face disappear for a second before being replaced by a feeling called agitation. He frowned and at one glance, Merlin chuckled, knowing that if ever a painter wanted to draw Lucas’ face on a canvas at this very moment, he’d feel disappointed of how his face wrinkled.Jonas, on the other hand, seemed to notice the tension that had been building up between the Prince and the mage, thus; he was left with no other choice but to disrupt the conversation. Merlin only blurted out a harmless joke, it’s just that Lucas had been very sensitive ever since
CHAPTER 12.1Conversation‘AH. The moon looks beautiful tonight,' Lucas thought as he set his gaze at the bright moon on the sky. The stars, twinkling around it complemented its beauty, making it more ethereal. This atmosphere makes him reminiscent of the times when he was still at Vintress Kingdom, his safe space and home. At times like this, he misses his life as the Prince of Vintress. Though, he also enjoys being the ‘ordinary Lucas’, being in his safe haven doesn’t require him to be vigilant of his surroundings.Who would have known that being a commoner would be this complicated? Being a Prince, he had it easy. He doesn’t have to deal with the trashy city Knights of Westmount who often patroled around Selene’s place, as if waiting for their prey to loosen up. The good thing in here is that, they aren’t disturbing Aling Helen’s wake.At le
CHAPTER 12.2 Last Day TODAY’s the last day of Aling Helen’s funeral and everyone was preparing to send her off. Meanwhile, Lucas and Jonas still stayed on the roofs to silently observe and of course, ensure Selene’s safety. Some of the men that his father sent to catch on them also arrived already, which was really convenient since if they had to escort Princess Selene and had to deal with another dangerous situation, they’d be able to handle the situation better. “Prinsipe Lucas,” bati sa kanya ni Captain Favian noong oras na makarating na rin ito sa kaharian ng Westmount. May kasama pa itong dalawang kabalyero na sa pagkakaalala ni Lucas, kabilang sa mga tinaguriang pinakamalakas tulad ni Jonas. “Narinig namin ang balita mula kay Haring Alexander at Merlin, mabuti’y walang masamang nangyari sa inyo. Mula ngayon, asahan niyong kasama niyo kami sa pakikipaglaban.” Matam
CHAPTER 12.3 The Princess’ Decision “ANONG ginagawa ninyo?!” namamanghang sigaw ni Selene nang magsimulang magpumiglas mula sa pagkakaposas. Everyone was too stunned to speak and react while the knights only chuckled mockingly, making fun of Selene and the entire funeral. Nakakasama pa ng loob dahil ito ang huling araw ng Mama niya, ito ang kahuli-hulihang beses na makikita niya ang imahe nito bago siya pormal na magpaalam. She still plans to mourn even after her burial, asking the visitors to leave and give her some time! But all of that was ruined after the knights disrupted the solemn atmosphere wafting on the air and abruptly put handcuffs around her wrist. Selene threw daggers at the knights. She still could not understand why are they messing with her! Ilang araw na ang lumipas. Ang akala pa naman niya, hindi na siya gagambalain ng mga kabalyero matapos ngga itong isa-isang kinaladkad ni
CHAPTER 12.4ReconciliationUP until now, Selene couldn’t understand what’s happening in her life. She plans to welcome Lucas and Jonas back in her life after realizing that they meant no harm, however; things still baffled her. Most especially in regards to how the knights who accompanied Lucas addressed him as ‘Princess’. She thought that it was pretty absurd, even though Lucas explained that she is indeed a lost princess of the Kingdom of Izquierdo—but like, how?All her life, she grew as an ordinary human being. Sure, something weird occurs every now and then but that doesn’t stop her from thinking anything weird about herself. Her mother, Helen, also told her that she’s unique in her own way and she held onto that.“Pwede ba ulit akong magtanong?” pag-uusisa ni Selene kay Miss Sephare habang inaasikaso niya ang Braised Black Pepper Chicken para kay Lu
CHAPTER 12.5 DecisionHYMN of the Moon is one of the three forbidden spells in the entire vampire race. At first, it may sound uninteresting and undeserving of its spot as a forbidden spell but as Lucas learned its capabilities from the mage considered to be the strongest in all of the four Kingdoms, Selene was told that Lucas immediately revoked his words.The Hymn is no ordinary protective spell that could transfer an object from one place to another. In fact, if a vampire casted the spell to protect a fellow vampire, the Hymn works differently from ordinary objects—this is probably why Lucas deemed the Hymn to be useless in the beginning. Going back, since it was casted upon Selene by the previous queen, Erina Griego, the Hymn not only transferred her to Westmount Kingdom but her vampiric abilities was also suppressed and in her blood, flowed the spell of the Hymn which would knock out or kill anyone who poses a thr
CHAPTER 13.1 Explanations SELENE wasn’t able to react when Lucas admitted that he was already engaged, with a Princess, at that. Selene knew who it was as she’d seen her in several occasions whenever Princess Luan would have to attend balls and parties here in Westmount Kingdom since as far as she knows, the Demelza family and the Heredia family have a tight bond—a friendship they do not know when it bloomed. Moreover, Selene didn’t expect that Lucas would also be acquainted with the aforesaid family. Well, according to what Selene has been hearing, the Demelza family who had been ruling the Izquierdo Kingdom was a better leader than the Heredia family. Had she said this out loud, she would be accused of treason, thus; Selene kept the thoughts ro herself. “Hindi ba... hindi ba mga Demelza ang nagpapadala ng assassin para sa patayin ako?” hindi niya makapaniwalang tanong. May multo ng pag
CelebrationNANG dumating ang araw ng debut ni Selene, marami ang um-attend. Mula kina Reyna Sara at Prinsipe Eustace, sina Haring Alexander at Prinsipe Lucas, pati na rin ang ngayo’y si Haring Zeno.Nagtataka nga si Selene dahil nagkaroon ito ng lakas ng loob na um-attend sa debut ball niya pero ayos lang dahil personal itong humingi ng tawad sa kanya para sa nagawa ng ama nito. The thing was, King Zeno kept mum about his father’s greed until he lost ‘someone’. Palagay niya, si Sir Clyde iyon dahil kalat na kalat ang tsismis.But as long as he apologized, she’s good with it.“Are you good?”Natigilan si Selene nang marinig ang boses ni Merlin. Nang lumingon siya, ‘tsaka niya natagpuan ang mahiko na naglalakad patungo sa kanya. May ngiti sa mga labi nito pero hindi rin naman maikakailang nag-aalala ito.“Nakita mo ba si Lucas?” tanong niya.Ipinilig ng mahiko ang ulo. “Ah... Kailangan mo ba talaga siyang kausapin tungkol doon ngayon?”“Yes. I promised him, remember?”Humigop nang mala
CHAPTER 43.5Troublesome PreparationsLAST WEEK, inanunsyo ni Merlin sa publiko na dalawang buwan mula ngayon ay magaganap ang debut ni Selene sa High Society at sa parehong araw ay kokoronahan ang dalaga bilang ang Crown Princess ng kaharian ng Izquierdo. Nakakagulat dahil mukhang marami ang naghihintay sa kanya at ang selebrasyong inanunsyo ng mahiko ang nagtulak sa lahat na mag-throw ng festival para sa darating na debut niya’t koronasyon.But announcing an important thing comes with a huge responsibility: she and Merlin will be busy planning her debut out and the entire preparation.Mayroon naman silang mga katulong. Tulad na lamang ng pamilyang Valderas na bukod sa pagtuturo sa kanya ng etiquette ay tinuturuan din siya kung paano ba siya magbi-behave habang nagaganap ang selebrasyon. She was also taught how to dance and after thirty minutes, she realized that that was not her strongest asset. Kaya extra-ng atensyon ang ibinubuhos sa kanya dahil bilang Prinsesa ng kaharian, kailan
CHAPTER 43.4Debut PreparationBAGAMAT HINDI INTERESADO si Selene na magpakilala sa lahat lalo na’t noong una ay wala naman talaga siyang plano na mag-ascend sa trono at pamahalaan ang buong kaharian ng Izquierdo, ngayong nagbago ang desisyon ni Selene sa buhay ay hindi na maiiwasan ang pag-de-debut at pagpapakilala sa publiko.“I don’t like the idea of pleasing the noble faction,” was what she told Merlin while they were busy discussing her debut which will happen within two months. “Kung pupwede lang natin silang i-out ay iyon ang iri-request ko sa ‘yo.”Napailing-iling si Merlin sa sinabi niya ngunit mayroong naglalarong ngiti sa mga labi nito. “Alam kong sasabihin mo ‘yan at pinag-iisipan ko na ring i-filter ang mga imbitasyon pero sinabihan akong ‘di pwede. We’re not persuading them that you’re much worthy than the previous royalties that they wanted to pursue. You just needed to let the entire Kingdom know that you’re no fiction.”“Do they still think that I’m fake?”“Some of th
CHAPTER 43.3BusyIT WAS ONLY a week after when Selene received a letter from Lucas. Ang sabi sa liham na natanggap niya, nakauwi raw ito ng ligtas sa kaharian nito ngunit kasabay naman noon ay ang tambak-tambak na gawain at mga dokumento. Natatawa si Selene dahil kalahati yata ng nilalaman ng sulat nito ay puro rants at reklamo tungkol sa trabaho nitong kailangang tapusin sa lalong madaling panahon, pero naaawa rin siya sa binata dahil ang dami nitong dinanas at hindi man lang nito masulit ang bakasyon nito.Then again... His duties would not be this delayed if Morfran Demelza didn’t interfere with their homecoming and abducted the Prince of Vintress Kingdom.Mabuti na lang talaga at mabilis ding naresolba ang problema at wala ring masamang nangyari kay Lucas dahil kung hindi, patuloy niyang pahihirapan si Morfran Demelza. But then recently, she has been receiving reports that Luan Demelza had frequently visited the front gates of Izquierdo Kingdom and demanded to talk to her. There
CHAPTER 43.2Nonsensical“MERLIN, ALAM MO ba kung anong dahilan kung ba’t nadi-delay ang pagdating ng sulat ko patungo sa kaharian ng Westmount and vice-versa? Natatakot kasi akong baka may bumubukas pa ng liham ko para sa mga kaibigan ko,” tanong ni Selene kay Merlin noong nasa hapagkainan silang dalawa.Parehong ginabi sina Merlin at Selene sa pagtatapos ng mga gawain nila. Merlin had finished his duties and approved some projects to further improve Izquierdo Kingdom’s situation such as budgeting and passing a law beneficial for everyone. Meanwhile, the reason why Selene had finished her duties as soon as the sun had finally set and the nightsky had dominated across the atmosphere was because she enjoyed reading the comparison between the eras of both Demelza family and Griego family. Gumawa pa siya noon ng maiksing summary ng mga nabasa niya.And while it’s true that her parents weren’t perfect as King and Queen, one of the sole reasons was because their deaths didn’t happen until
CHAPTER 43.1NOONG MALAMAN NI Selene na nakatanggap siya ng sulat mula sa kaharian ng Westmount, na siyang lugar na kinalakhan niya’t mayroon siyang koneksyon, hindi naiwasan ni Selene ang mapangiti. She remembered that she had just recently sent a letter to one of her friends – kaso hindi siya kaagad na nakatanggap ng sagot mula sa mga ito. The thought that she was waiting and a lot has already happened since then makes her feel relieved.Siguro matagal lang talagang dumating ang sulat dahil malayo ang ibiniyahe ng inutusan niyang magdala noon o mayroon ding naging conflict sa kaharian ng Westmount. That’s just her estimation, honestly. Ayaw mag-isip ni Selene nang kung anu-ano.After she thought of how long it took to receive a letter from her friends, Selene opened it. She was extra careful because the letter had a dried rose inside it, and she assumed that her friends sent her this to use as a bookmark, perhaps? And that’s what she’ll do if she ever starts reading another book.As
CHAPTER 42.5FamilyAFTER DISCUSSING MERLIN’S relationship with her parents and understanding that they had such a complicated and rough time hiding their romantic feelings toward each other, Selene remembered that one thing that Count Valderas told her about her mother’s roots.“Merlin, nabanggit pala sa ‘kin ni Konde Valderas na tagakaharian ng Vintress pala si Mama?” pag-uusisa niya habang nasa kalagitnaan sila ng paghahapunan.Matapos nilang mag-usap ni Merlin, nagpahinga sandali si Selene para balikan ang mga dokumentong iniwanan niya. Nawala na sa isipan niya si Lucas at ang pag-alis nito pero sa tuwing mababakante ang isip niya, ito ang una niyang hinahanap kaya minabuti ni Selene na abalahin ang sarili. Mahirap na, baka hindi pa niya maituon ang atensyon sa mga dapat niyang inaasikaso.Susulat din naman si Lucas. Magkakaroon din sila ng contact sa isa’t isa.Anyway, pagkatapos ng isang oras ay tinawag si Selene ng isa sa mga personal maids niya para maghapunan. Naghihintay na
CHAPTER 42.4Not An Ordinary RelationshipFROM THE WINDOW, Selene could witness the sun set and of how the beautiful orange hue was slowly turning into a dark bluish nightsky. Hindi alam ni Selene kung anong oras nang natapos ang klase niya pero base sa kalangitan ay mukhang late na niyang na-settle lahat. It must be because she enjoyed her previous classes or maybe... She was scared to find out the truth about Merlin’s relationship with her parents.Hindi napansin ni Selene na matamang pinagmamasdan pala siya ni Merlin. Napangiti ito noong mapansing parang kabado siya bagamat wala pa naman itong sinasabing katotohanan. But then again, she can’t help it! Anong mararamdaman niya sa oras na marinig niyang niloloko pala ng mahiko ang isa sa mga bayolohikal niyang magulang?“Did you seriously think that I’d have the courage to hurt King Arthur or Queen Erina?” naaaliw nitong tanong. Even amusement danced on his purple eyes which made Selene flinch and pause.Selene pressed her lips togeth
CHAPTER 42.3RelationshipDAHIL KAY MERLIN, maraming nalaman si Selene tungkol sa mga magulang niya na hindi nakalagay sa mga libro at dyaryo noon. Nalaman niya kung anong ugali ng mga magulang niya at kung anu-anong kaugalian ba iyong namana niya mula rito.It turned out that Selene looks like her father but mostly behaves like his mother. But the way she deals with things is very much like her father. So, baga sa percentage, mas dominant ang naiwan sa kanya ng tatay niya kaysa sa nanay niya. Bukod kasi sa mata at ugali, mas malapit daw siya sa tatay niya. Parang resulta raw si Selene ng halos perpektong scan pero nagkaiba raw sa kasarian.“Anong relasyon mo kina Mama?” pagtatanong niya sa mahiko kalaunan at para linawin ang tinutukoy ay itinuro niya ang litrato ng bayolohikal niyang ina, si Reyna Erina.Natigilan si Merlin noong marinig ang tanong niya at tila ba naubusan ito bigla ng mga salitang dapat isasagot sa kanya. But she’s curious. Gusto niyang malaman kung ano ba ang relas