4 - Lady in Red

"May we call on Lady Caress to join us with the bestowing ceremony." The emcee announced followed by an applause from the several attendees. 

Care found herself rising from her seat. 

"Shi! What is this, déjà vu?" Care inwardly panicked. 

Like how it goes, Aster reached and gave her hand a light squeeze. Her heart began thumping crazily when she said the exact statement:

"Come straight to the table after, hmm? I feel uneasy tonight." 

Chills ran through her spine as though somebody threw a bucket full of ice on her. She wanted to shout for help yet she cannot lift even a muscle in her mouth no matter how hard she tried. Further and further, she spirals down into a dilemma to believe what is meant to happen will actually happen! It doesn’t matter if her decision is firm not to proceed to stage because she already has zero control of her body. She was now a puppet with somebody pulling the strings for her to move.

The struggle is real as her feet march towards the stage on its own accord. Deep inside, she was a total wreck: screaming and resisting. She would love to tear the cheque placed on her palm into hundred pieces!

"Be sure to produce good results. This is a huge opportunity to make a difference. Go, do it. I'll be cheering for you!" she spoke. 

We are right on script, she mentally noted. 

"Yes, Milady. It’s my once in a lifetime chance. Don't regret cheering me on later. Good riddance!" he replied the same cryptic lines. 

As she goes nearer to Ramses, fragments of her impending murder flooded back so she braced for her fate... or so she thought she could prepare! The fear of experiencing the dagger thrusted to her chest for the second time allowed her to regain a bit of control. She succeeded in closing her eyes to save her from the live reenactment of her ultimate nightmare. 

"Am I to die? AGAIN?! For Pete's sake, please no!" she pleaded to Heavens. 

The lady was a thumb away regretting that she chose the mystical man who introduced himself as Gallus when she heard Eli's guttural voice a little earlier than expected. 

"Aragon!" he shouted. 

Automatically, she turned causing the dagger to land right on her ruby heirloom. She felt the incredible weight he put on his thrust but the gem stayed unscratched! The halls are filled with gasps of shock as she staggers back in order to expose Ramses' ill intention.

"Please drop the weapon!" she begged earnestly although her body was shaking.

The void in his eyes burst her hope into flames. Overwhelmed by emotions, Care took a step forward intending to take the weapon from him. She thought they could make an excuse! She wished him to go unscathed even though what he did should have been unforgivable. 

"Aragon, run! What are you doing?" Eli yelled, distraught. 

She did not pay attention. All her eyes could see was the young boy Ramses in the past. Harmless, kind and warm... that although he lunges for another strike, she stood still. Quickly, Eli climbed his way to the stage, shoved her aside and attempted to steal the dagger, but Ramses already struck it forward to Eli's stomach, not stopping till only the handle was left. He collapsed on her lap spreading a pool of blood on her immaculate white dress. Care whose face mirrored terror lost the ability to care of the meager details after witnessing what happened. 

"Eli, oh my! No! No, Eli, wait!" She panicked. 

A huge hand clutching her heart until it became harder and harder to breathe: this is what she felt. Her tears fell fast to his face one after another. She gathered him in her arms despite her hands trembling profusely. 

Other men reached the stage before Ramses again grabbed the inconsolable maiden. They subdued him, ducking his face on the floor. He wriggled to break free akin to an enraged bull that feeds on destruction. His tears welled up, realizing he miserably failed to achieve his long plotted revenge. He barely has a meter to cross! 

"Hypocrite! How dare you act as if you cared!? I bet you are comforted with what he did! After all, you'd let misfortune befall those around you as long as you're okay!" his mad voice boomed. 

Every hurtful word he spouted was a sharpened arrow piercing her heart. His accusations hit home that she was compelled to raise her downcast head. The kind boy etched in her memory is fading fast, replaced by the image of a cruel monster. She hardly recovered as she felt hands covering her ears. 

Hands of Eliseo! 

His sluggish eyes unmasked how much pain he was in, nevertheless they were tender, not his usual indifferent stare. 

"Don't listen." He muttered, respiring heavy exhales at the same time.

Before she could nod, the young lady fainted. Her subconscious traveled back to the first day she met Eliseo Manaloto. The memory she buried 1,000 feet underground and how she swore to keep it a secret till death! 

Back at that time, she was eleven and he was twelve. She vividly remembers upon sighting him sitting on the branch of a 100-year-old oak tree. Tanned skin. Neat shirt. Disheveled hair. Pitch black eyes. Right there, she was swept by a foreign feeling she never had before towards the opposite sex. 

Admiration 

She waited for him to notice her gawking, counting each second that passed. It took him a minute to acknowledge her presence. He merely glanced. It irked her so much that it did not even last a second! 

"Is this foolish pauper blind or somethin’? Or maybe, it's his way to impress me?" she smugly mumbles under her breath. 

As everyone’s apple of the eye, her pride cannot swallow his indifference. Hence, she approached him with her head high and arms crossed. She did that to establish superiority. However, the moment he looked down, she was aware she was losing the higher ground. 

"Hey! Help me climb!" She demanded. 

"You'd get hurt." he languidly replied.

Her eyebrows furrowed. She thought, "The heck! How dare him underestimate me!" 

Determined, she grabbed the nearest branch, struggling to lift her body akin to a monkey clinging to a pole at once. Hearing him tsked only incite her defiant self. Then, without much surprise, her leg slipped. Before her hand lost grip, Eli pulled her up using his calloused hands. Briefly after, they reach the more elevated branch. 

"Thank you." She said keeping her tone monotonous. 

They sat beside each other, enjoying the rush of wind and the company of silence. Care feels light as a feather for the first time in those past months. Everything around her is brighter, livelier, truer... She sighed in relief. 

No walls nor chains could ever imprison me again, she promised herself. 

"It's beautiful up here! Isn't that why you're so selfish with this spot? I'm Caress Aragon, by the way." 

She instinctively raised her hand for a formal handshake that hung mid-air unaccepted. 

"Isn't it pointless for introductions, Miss Perfect? You are known throughout Aurum. Have you become bored in your castle so you decide to play humble here?" 

It crushed her: his voice filled with pure disgust. Her hand voluntarily lowered as her strength got sucked with his subtle insulting vibe. She fisted her knuckles, unable to figure out what to do. It was the first time she got outright confronted. 

"I... I don't understand-" she stammered. 

"Children around our age talked. Isn't it your hobby to assure yourself you outclassed them by going around? You really love when you look like roses around us, prickly thorns."

Her mouth opened briefly but because her mind offered no reasons to speak, she stayed tight-lipped right after. They averted their gaze away from one another. One is regretful while the other feels vulnerable. Then, suddenly, the branch they sat on moved downward. Their eyes met once again, reflecting the speculation of each other. The branch will collapse and so are they! 

"Cover your head!" Eli ordered that she obeyed in the heat of panic. 

Just as she thought they were on their own, Eli enclosed her in a protective embrace. When they landed on the grass, he got bruises on both elbows. On the other hand, Care was not a bit scratched. She gaped at him, bewildered. 

"Why?" she mumbled. 

"Eli, Care!" the adults shouted, fast approaching from a distance. 

Both flustered, they abruptly stood up. The young boy turned his back without a word nor did he spare a single glance at her. She fisted her knuckles much firmer; they almost turned white. If she was combustible, the girl would have burned into flames. 

"He fascinates me! He annoys me! He says hurtful words then redeems himself through his actions! UGH!" she revolted inside while eyeing him leave as though nothing happened. 

Worried inquiries of her father were drowned by the rebel beat of her shattered heart. She swears to make that impudent brat crazy for her so bad that he will eat up all his insults. After that beautiful day comes, she shall crush his heart just like he did today with hers.