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The Tauromachy
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2024-10-29 19:42:56The morning came.
And everyone was preoccupied. Martha and Fatma with the other girls were crowdedly working in the cookery which was now fused with different aromas. The choir with Abigail was practicing a series of holy songs they would perform. Some of the sisters with Agnes were cleaning and putting new drapes. Even the little ones with Edith were putting flowers on the tables.
As for me, I had the heaviest job of all. I had to kill Marie who had nothing but hatred for everyone.
I remembered how she told me I was part of everyone. That day she escaped, and no one knew. I was walking to exit the compound when she halted me exactly on the opening of the gate. I did not know her then, so I had no idea how she was. I ignored her, and the moment I took another step, she charged at me until she had a few of my skin. I was thirteen then, and she made me cried.
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“You have to come back the convent with us.” I said to Hana. She reacted as if I recited an alien prose, “What? Are you insane?” She asked, “You know I am not allowed to go back there anymore, Tilly.” “I know, but no one would even notice that you are back. They are all preoccupied with the preparation, even the knights are helping us sisters, so this is the perfect time to sneak you in.” “I don’t think it is a good idea. It is too risky.” She announced, but I could feel that she longed to be back. And I was willing to do anything it would take to give her a few moments of it, even if it was more than risky. “The girls miss you, Michael too, and I know that you feel the same, Hana. You would be doing it not only for you, but also for them
Mathilda The Other Half II
“Where is Michael?” Hana asked. He was nowhere in this room. His bed was fixed and his towers of books were missing. Even the potted plant I placed beside him where we damped his medicine had gone. The infirmary looked like how it was before, it was tidy and unused. Hana then spoke again, “Tilly, where is he? Is he fine?” I did not know. I turned to Gabriel, hoping he had known the answer, but he was stunned like a stone. Only his breathing was moving, and it was starting to hasten. It was starting to get loud. I then held his hand, and it was cold. “Gabriel, are you okay?” I asked him. “No one heard my pleas. The upper knights still heeded to him.” He blurted, and he was still breathing fast. “They took him with them. They will bring him back, and they w
Mathilda The Hollow Night
The night was calm. And we were all tiptoeing our way into the forest. The moon was nowhere so our path was unlit, and we could not light up a lantern for we must be with the dark. Despite it, I knew my way for the forest was not unknown to me, it was my playground since I was younger, but not to the knights. They were foreigners in this land. However, I knew that it was only a slight advantage to me because the knights were not exactly oblivious with unknown lands. It was their job to be at one, and for sure they had seen darker places than this silent Adan. Gabriel and Felix were proving my assumption. They were my shadows as I strode myself around, stepping on the exact ground I had stepped on and avoiding the scattered branches on the ground. My pace was silent and theirs too. I expected worse with our unusual pack, but they were adept to set aside their differences, and maybe because
Mathilda The Salvation
Tina walked back to the bald tree. The moment she had gone away to our view, both Gabriel and Felix turned at me with questioning faces, and then I answered them through a whisper, “Trust her. She knows what she is doing.” “We just have to wait for her.” I added. And then I continued watching the situation, studying if our little plan would be effective. Avert their attention, loose their transit, free the prisoners, utilize the forest to our advantage, make use of Tina, and then escape. I rerun the course of action in my mind for a few times now. There were little loopholes with it, and a slight impossibility that it would not work. It would all depend to the knights. All of them stayed in front of the fire even after a long while. They ate the food the sisters had prepared, and they laughed at their own pet
Mathilda The Black Lamb
We left immediately. While I was leading them to an unknown path in the forest, Tina and Felix were carrying Philip’s weight, and Gabriel was helping Michael, who was dragging his ailing leg.We were all hiding behind the trees, and we were walking on the grasses instead on the ground to keep the knights from following us. After hours of walking, the trees started to crowd each other again, and the scenes of the vicinity started to be familiar. I had been here before. It was the edge of the Adan forest, and after a few more yards from it would be the nearest village which was Tina and Philip’s destination. “This is the farthest we could go, Tina.” And it meant we really had to say goodbye. “Can you travel from here on alone?” “I already have a plan and a route to go to, so you don’t ha
Mathilda The Pack of Lies
Gabriel Michael was on Felix’s back, but it felt like my body was heavier than both of them combined. It even got worse as I kept remembering the darkened hall where I left her before she vanished. And like before, I was leaving her again. And it was panging me hard. “Gabriel, you should focus with the way.” Michael demanded after I accidentally stepped on a tree branch for the fourth time, “If Gaston and his squad was somewhere around the area, they would march to us immediately.” But so far, nothing had happened. We were about to exit the forest, and then head to the field in front of the farmhouse next without any hindrance, and it was because of Mathilda. Michael was right, if I would continue to be unfocused now, everything that she did would be for nothing. I turned to him, “I should say the same thing.
Mathilda The Homecoming
AbigailAbigail left the front of the hall the moment their song ended. All of the choir people were in glee as they go to their places due to their impeccable performance, but not Abigail. She had sullen on her face because Mathilda was still nowhere around the celebration. It was a shame that she did not see her perform, but Abigail knew that it was because she was helping Hana and Michael. She smiled a little, knowing that the two were about to meet after their many letters. As Abigail sat on her place in the middle of their pew, Sister Katarina, her mentor, spoke with concern, “Are you okay? I sensed that you were a little distracted earlier.” “I am fine, Sister Katarina. I was just a little nervous during the performance. I am sorry if I did not perform well.” She lied because no one should know that Mathilda was n
Mathilda The Artisan
Twelve hours had passed since we saved Michael and Philip, and it was the same time it took for the knights to announce the disappearance. When the morning came, the knights arrived on the compound from their search with no one. They headed straight to the mess hall to bear the bad news to their sovereign and his upper men. They were all dirtied and worn out as they knelt in front of his table. And then instantly, their father stood, showering them with the innards of his bowl. Some of the sister gasped in surprise, and some of them started murmuring after his action. But the sovereign of the knights ignored it, and he walked out with his men, leaving the mess he had made in the hall. And then Mother Renata stood, and she imperatively said, “Sisters, please continue with your meals.” I turned to Gabriel, and then to Felix to ask for anythi
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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
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“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
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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
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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
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“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
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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
