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The Hidden Face
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2024-10-29 19:42:56I wanted to punished him with my own hands.
I could be Princess Anipe who killed her abusive and adulterous husband by drowning him on the Nile river in his sleep. But I could not do it. First, the knights were probably guarding him, and second, because the river-lake was miles from the convent. I could not carry him on my own.
I could be Gloria who faked his rapist husband’s death only to cage him on their house basement until he rotted. But there was no basement in the convent, only the hidden room in the library that was now known. And if I would be using any of the other rooms in the convent, the walls were not thick enough to subdue his scream at night.
Or if I could not be the two, I could be court maid Gyung Hui of the Yi Dynasty, who put poisoned on her lips before kissing the prince who played her expecting heart. But I did not know any poisons in the herbarium, and I
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Mathilda The Scapegrace
It only took two days to heal me. And in that two days I already constructed the piece that would make a better narrative for Tina. She was deluded by him. She was used by him. She was abused by him. She was stained by him. She was controlled by him. And then she was disposed by him. I memorized every word, putting all the blame to Philip. He was the puppet master in the first place. It was his hands that controlled the threads, and she was only a shell in his dirty game that he played. It was my redemption. I did not have the chance to save her before, so despite what she had done and despite the disdain of my sister, I would still help her. And then we would be done. “He is waiting for you at the staircase.” Abigail informed me with a straight face and a monotone sound.
Mathilda The Trial I
Sister Ana was summoned first. It had been hours since she entered the holy hall that was now converted as courtroom, and it had been the same time since we were instructed to stay at the mess hall. I was both a victim and a witness, but it felt like I was the person in trial for there were pins and needles resting on my feet as I waited for my turn. “What is taking them so long?” Sister Katarina asked. She was on the edge of her seat, and her hands were pressing on each other. “Do you think they will cross-question us like that?” “Nope. I don’t think so.” I answered her. Relief washed over her face, and it vanished into thin air as I said, “I think we will have a longer time than her.” “And why is that?” “
Mathilda The Trial II
I underestimated the knights. I had no idea that they would use Tina against herself, and they did it when she was nothing but vulnerable. This was part of their playbook. It had been strategically planned since the day they had known about her, and their goal was to drag her down with Philip. And if that would happen, the blame would be split into two, to one of the knights, and to one of the sisters. Tina was dragging her body, and her chained hands were slightly shaking as she walked to my side. When she arrived, her hand tried to covertly reach out to mine, but before I could hold it, she was pulled away from me. The leading knight spoke again, “Sister Mathilda, your words are trying to protect her, convincing us that she was controlled and forced to hurt you and Sister Katarina, but Philip was convinced that she was doing it
Mathilda The Revealing
Everyone started leaving the holy hall. And when the door creaked for the last time, my adrenaline ended serving, making both of my legs gave out on their own. I sprawled on the floor, and I felt that may hands were colder than it. Earlier, I held out my breath as we waited for the father of the knights to dismissed the trial. Mother Renata could not, for it was not her place. And then the father stood from his seat, and walked out without saying a word. I breathed with ease as the upper knights followed him out. I thought every knight did, but Gabriel apparently stayed. “You really gave them hell.” He said to me out loud. He then walked to the front of the bench which was the opposite end of where he stood. As he reached me, instead of extending his arm to pull me up which I had expected, he only joined me on the flo
Mathilda The Damnation
“Tilly, wake up. You should see this.” someone softly said as she shook me from my sleep. But I silenced her voice in my mind, “Leave me alone, I am still sleeping. You should bother someone else, sister.” I said without knowing who I was speaking to, and then I hid myself under my blanket. “It is Philip.” She said louder, and it finally woke me up. I pushed myself up hastily that I felt the room jolted back and forth for a few seconds, then I turned to her, “What happened to him?” I asked. “You should see it yourself.” Fatma said. I tended to myself faster that I could. I even almost forget to hid my hair under a wimple, good thing Fatma stayed with me as I prepared. When I finished, I pulled Fatma with me to the stairs. And the other
Mathilda The Pursuit for Evil
Philip stayed on the slanted cross for two consecutive days now. And in every morning, there were new wounds overlapping the older ones that he was now soaked from his own blood. The knights did not even consider tending to it, or at least cleaning it to avoid contamination. They should have done it as a note that they are forgiving. But they were not. I knew it was a punishment for his crime, but the knights were not saints. Fortunately, a few of them were aware of it. They gave Philip a humane hand, they feed him the second time the bell would rung, and they gave him water every time he would cough. There was even an older sister who covered him in blanket, but it was covertly took off. Apparently, the many slashes on his body should be exposed to see by the eyes of the knights. It was a warning to them, and it was disturbing that they were making use of his pain to educate the
Mathilda The Casted One
The moment I left the stable, I was greeted by Mother Renata. “Sister Mathilda, I have been looking for you.” She announced as she closed the distance between us. “You did not take your meal in the mess hall so…” Without thinking, I cut her words, “Is there something that you wanted me to do, mother?” I quickly asked. I was convincing myself to simmer down, but it seemed that she noticed the hint of anxiousness before I could hide it. “What are you doing there, Mathilda?” She asked, peaking inside the stable. “My horse had managed to escape, so I brought him back, mother.” I answered politely. But it did not feed her curiosity, and she then entered the stable. I could feel my heart throbbing out my chest w
Mathilda The Little Man
No one new that Tina had left. No, no one new that she was forced to go. It was as if she did not exist in the convent. All of the sisters continued with their chore duties, and knights kept walking on the halls, even the people who had sentenced her were blind with her absence. But every time I would enter the library, it felt empty. I wished I could tell everyone about her. I wanted to disrupt the daily homily, jumped in front of hall and forcedly inform them about Tina. That she was the girl in the library, and probably, the same girl who looked at them with disgust as they walked on the corridors. I could also do it during meals at the mess hall, or anywhere with sisters to enlighten, but I did not think that the council would allow me. Guilt should pang them, but their skins were too thick to infringe on. They did not care about her for she was just one of the many pawns in the conve
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Mathilda The Girl Who Left
I was unmoving. Three months had passed but the convent remained to be an abyss of nothingness. Not because Hana and Gabriel were nowhere here, but because I realized that, time is still in the convent. Everything outside was constantly growing and changing, while inside, nothing was happening. We were only praying, singing, and doing chores repeatedly as time passed by. Then we would wither, and that was the end of it. I already knew this before, but I only fully realized now because of the changes that the knights of Saint Christopher endowed. I am not saying I enjoyed the challenges, the problems, and the pain, but I grew as a person because of it. I was unmoving. And I wanted the world to see me move. I raised my hand, and interrupted Siter Rene or Mother Rene as she continued with the homily which she already discussed thrice now. I n
Mathilda The Girl Who Stayed
Days had passed, and Gabriel was still resting in the infirmary. He was enjoying the comfort and the attention. He will wake up the moment he had gotten tired of it. I was telling myself that to feel ease, and to assure myself that he would wake up. But it was starting to work less. I was alone with him, and his father was letting me which I found odd given his nature. But he kept surprising me, for there were times that he would visit Gabriel. He would stand behind the door and watched him from there. They did not have the best relationship, I assumed. I turned the pages of the book in my hand, and started reading it, “Long ago, the land of Hemsworth was cursed by the witch they had burned at the stake. Her words withered the crops and killed the livestock, making everyone famished.” “The people started stealing from the table of their nei
Mathilda The Sleeping Seraph
She was her title to me. A mother. The sisters raised us all, but I called her mother when I was two. And I only stopped calling her that when I found out the definition of convent in the encyclopedia, why there were lots of sisters and no fathers in our home, and why we were praying words we could not understand instead of playing. But still, even it was only her title and even I halted calling her mama, she never stopped being one to me. She would sing me a song on my bed because the night was too long for a child. She would reprimand me with a stick on her hand but she never actually hit me. She would explain the whys I could not get from books. And she would carry me from the ground because I got tired from playing to much. She became the figure I longed for as a child and she painted my childhood with affection. And because of that, I was able to know what was love like. I was able t
Mathilda The Irony
“How could she be the same sister if the photo was taken decades ago?” I asked Gabriel. “I don’t know, but you are looking at its result.” His was starting to be breathy. “Do you think it is really possible that this is Mother Renata?” I asked again. But Gabriel did not respond as he was bearing the pain. He was paler than before, and when I looked at his arm, the wimple around it was not drenched from his blood. “We have to go.” I announced, hiding the photograph on my cloth pocket. And then I carried his weight again. He was grunting the whole time we were climbing the stairs. When we reached the opened door, I peeked out, seeing that the chapter house was still silent and empty. I sat him on a chair, so I could slide back the wall. And when I turned back around, Mother Renata was calmly gazing at
Mathilda The Abyss of Bones
The blood was fresh. And it was on the tip of her lips on her calmed face, but as I kept my sight on her, there was something I could not fathom. She seemed someone that she was not, like the convent. At first glance, it looked like a place where you could seek warmth during the cold of the night, but as you entered it, there was no warmth, only emptiness. I was afraid, but I was curious to see her, so I stayed hidden and I kept watching as she gone on. I realized that she was not her, but she wore the face of Mother Renata. Then the door closed, and silence befell the room again. You have to inform her about the knights, I reminded myself. The table helped me stood, and I waited for her to come back but the door did not open. I walked to it instead, so I could open it on my own. However, the room on the back of the wall was calling me. I could not resist it.&nb
Mathilda The Behemoth
The convent was still. All was exactly how it was before, the deserted grounds after sundown, the gate that never closed, and the calming eeriness. But as I entered the opening of the compound, I immediately caught the slanted cross on the corner where they gave Philip damnation, reminding me of the enemy. The knights were nowhere in the area. I was right that they summoned everyone to storm at us. I heeded myself to hurry, for I have to find my sisters. But when I jumped off the horse, my leg got caught on the saddle. I hasten to untangle myself on the strap of the seat until I fell on the ground. I was hurting that I stayed on the ground, feeling the earth on my body, and feeling nothing on my leg. And then I heard the father again, hurting me more, “You don’t know how to distinguish an enemy.” “You have been
Mathilda The Rotten Apple
“I did not invite them.” Michael said. The knights continued to penetrate the wall using their sharpened swords and axes, and the sound of the breaking had scared the nightingales that they flew away from their tree. One by one the knights started emerging from the outside until all of them were lined up in front of the crumble partition. And then the upper knights started joining them, and the last one who arrived was their sovereign. It seemed that all of them was here, I even saw Felix standing in the middle of their crowd. He was eyeing me as I looked at him, and he sneakily signed sorry to me. What was it for? Is it because he tell them our hidden location? Or because he failed to caution us? “What are we going to do?” Hana asked, and when I turned to her, Agnes, Fatma, Abigail, and Edith, wer
Mathilda The Wed
I woke up knowing that I would finally give Hana to Michael. The pain I was feeling now was similar to when you accidentally hit your finger toe against the edge of a pew, or a table, or your bed, or any other furniture that was on your way. It only hurt the first moments, but as seconds pass, it became a little bearable until you could not feel it. It became more than bearable when the girls understood her immediately. They were happy about the marriage, even it meant that Michael would be taking Hana away too. I had to do the same. I had to understand and be happy. The door creaked as Agnes entered my room, “The knights went out to search the grounds again.” She announced to us. And it meant that we had to go now. “Get yourselves ready.” I demanded. And then the girls started hurrying to g
Mathilda The Paper Doll
Hana “Run away with me.” Michael said to Hana. She was laughing as she watched Mathilda chased Gabriel around, but the moment she heard Michael, everything around her faded away. She turned to him, and she was greeted by Michael’s grinning face. He spoke again for she did not answer. “I know I am asking a lot. Leaving meant that you could not see your sisters again, and the knights will not stop unless they found me.” “Marry me in front of your sisters, and flee with me, so we could live together.” Michael added. His words reverberated, and it stunned Hana. She did not want to leave the people she loved, but she loved Michael too. And it hurt her that she could not have both. Staying meant she would lose Michael, and leaving meant she would lose her sisters. She could not choose now, so she said t
