Standing by the window, Hera watched the rain splattered by its glass, following its trail as it slid down the gutter. Somehow, she’s trying not to look at her reflection in it, for in the surface of her eyes, she could see the clip so vividly, playing seamlessly as though never wanting to be forgotten.
It’s been over a day, yet the horror and anger circling her sister’s orbs remained ever-clearer. It looked as though even when a millennium passed, that picture of a terrible fate would not fade away. It was something she could not chew. Every time she’s reminded of it, she just lost her grip on herself, and everything that’s near ended up lying helplessly on the ground, broken to pieces. Most times, she imagined what it would feel if she could just run her hand through
The tent’s only source of light came from the pea-size flame dancing in the candle and the biggest of the moon that had been raised on the horizon that year. Hera followed the dance of this fire, the breeze of the wind caressing her whole being as what Mang Kanor had said echoed inside her head.She didn’t want to perceive her mother other than the picture of what she should have been, but every time she contradicted herself, the memory of her mother yelling at her father who’s doing nothing but to apologize spiraled in her thoughts, never-ending.“Happy birthday, Hera,” said her mother, the widest of smiles caressing her lips.It’s been over an hour since she arrived. Thousands of times she questioned her about the whereabouts of her father, but she’d only
Hera woke up abruptly and was greeted by the darkness of her dorm. There was something about its eternal shadows comforting each corner that serenaded her soul. She couldn’t understand what it was that she came here for and why she was opening her eyes despite not seeing anything. It took her quite some time to realize what it was that she really felt and another moment of pondering why she sensed filth in her existence.Breathing heavily, she listened to the patter of the rain outside, dancing into the rhythm of the heaven’s emotion. In a way, it synchronized with the depth of her despair, fitting so perfectly well into the gap of her own puzzle. She thought it was imprudent of her not to heed its song, for in the tune it drummed to the surface laid the rest she always longed to grasp.With her mind still echoing the memory she
Once Hera went out of her dorm, she was greeted by Kioven who was sitting cross-legged beside the door, his palm facing his lap, his eyes closed. Hera was fazed for a moment, frozen in her track, her mind couldn’t quite process what he was doing there. Blinking rather rapidly, she made to move past him, but she stopped once again when he spoke. “You went out at last.” She didn’t know if she should feel relieved that someone was waiting for her to come out in the open or disappointed that life was yet again giving her a reason to see a ray of light. Truth be told, she’s tired of misreading the signs. One moment it seemed that she’d be able to grasp and grapple all of her fears and in the other, it just seemed to be the only real thing. “Are
The quarter wherein the League dwelled was unlike anything Hera had seen. Everywhere she looked had a glimmer of wealth she would never be able to see had she stayed in the orphanage. The walls had the same glass as her dormitory, but the texture in which it had was in a way different level. Unlike the normal standard of the school and Sheel’s room, this one had a clearly defined and smooth look in them, which from afar made it resemble a mirror—only it didn’t reflect anything but the light coming from the elegant chandelier hanging way above the high-arching ceiling. A quarter was really an understatement when seated to the extravagance of the League’s nest. It looked more like a mansion than anything else. It had ten rooms, each facing the sitting room where Yara and Hera were currently positioned. Hera was seated on a high chair, her eyes closed while Yara stood at her back, humming a littl
The second Perry’s palm touched Hera’s bare skin, Hera felt as though the world around her jerked so fast that she could only make out a blurred line. She tried to catch her breath as her consciousness slipped away; a sensation of something being sucked from her system made her weak in the knees. She screamed at the top of her lungs, screamed as she’d never done all her life, for the pain crawling to the depth of her very existence would surely end the journey she long had cursed.Before she knew it, she was slumped on the tiled ground, sweating profusely. Perry, meanwhile, was thrown toward the wall by an invisible force. She stole a glance at Hera, but the force that had flattened her against the wall vanished, and she slid on her feet, her whole body shaking, blood trickling from her nose.“Does that happen all th
Had it not for Yara and Perry, Hera and Sheels would have driven their way to the mansion of Hera’s bitch of a mother. It pained her to unravel what had become of the person who sell her after all these years; at the same time, she pitied her mother’s fate. She once was a beautiful rose, well taken care of, and was given more than what she needed to survive. When she fell in love, she welted in place, reduced into clinging desperately to the only relative who had his eyes at her even though the consequences following it was to become the dirty mistress of her own cousin.In a way, she had fallen more deeply than her daughters. She who had swallowed her respect to life, she who had bargained her own children just to have another go of the wealth she used to have, she who had destroyed the family of her own kin, was even to hell undeserving. She earned a lifetime of suffering and a timeless
When Hera woke up the next day, it was to find herself in a spiral of confusion as to where and why she’s in a strange room. It took her quite some time to realize she’s in the League’s Quarter and that her dorm was under construction because of her rampage.A prick of guilt ate away in her consciousness, but it was easier to brush it off once she thought of all the things she’d learned from the and&nb
Hera took a little while to get accustomed to the orangish light coming from the flames on the wooden torches—even more so to the flight of steps descending from somewhere. She’d never once walked through a tunnel before, but this one took it to a different level. They had turned for a hundred times already, two- or three-way forks confusing them to their ends, though always the same, Perry would touch the ancient-looking rocks caving them in and would be the decisive factor as to which lane they’d venture.It was pretty much a game of faith, a battle that would’ve spelled Hera’s demise had she been alone in here. Every now and then, she’s struck by the thought that they were already lost, but when she got a glimpse
Hera used to be a dark rose whose thorns prick anyone brave enough to draw closer. She spewed this kind of scent creeping the hell out of everyone within the radius and even went so far as to cover her face and keep her voice to herself just to annoy their shits.But the truth about it was rooted in her sense of mistrust toward humans. With everything that she’d gone through, her seclusion was such a thick defense mechanism keeping her from ever falling to the bait of insanity.Eyes were the window to the soul. It spoke of a language complex than the verbal dialogue, and so, it revealed everything the mouth couldn’t express. Likewise, the tone of her voice would bring out some emotions she was trying so much to keep hidden. This was to be the reason why she threw the curtains of her hair down her face and tolerate the rumor of her being mute.Even with the many layers erected around her, it didn’t stop the League and Kioven to penet
Hera couldn’t help but smile as she stared at the League. She understood now that she made the right call of trusting them. Whether or not the president was accurate to say none of them trusted her, it no longer mattered. They had their reasons why they have kept some things from her. She didn’t even need to hear it. All it took was the big curves on their lips despite their body cradled by wounds to assure her that, no matter what happens, they have each other’s back. When the president started throwing the ruble off him, Hera realized they wouldn’t get out of here unscathed anymore. The look on his face as he wiped off dirt out of Ivy’s body and the energy projecting around him like a wildfire ready to consume anyone near its radius was enough confirmatio
Never did it cross Hera’s mind that she’d be facing her sister once again, not especially in a situation where she was forced to choose whether or not to free her from her misery or save herself. The decision was made even before she could think about it. The president knew that and he was taking full advantage of it.Guilt weighed her enough for the past few days, years even; now that she had an option to lift the burden on her sister’s shoulder, she, of course, would not hesitate to prioritize her welfare even at the expense of her own. Of course, knowing the president, it would be naïve to think he would just let go of his slave even if Hera was to bargain herself, so either she thought fast of defeating him or die trying in t
All her life was a series of unfortunate events; almost always, it was a human who brought about the worst of it. She hated herself for what she was and for what freak she was slowly becoming. It wasn’t her idea to keep going back and forth in trusting people, but she couldn’t say she could go all out in doing so either, especially not when, every now and then, she turned out to be a witness of how ugly things could be once people put their mind on it.But haven’t she proved some had no potential of morphing into a monster she knew she feared? Or were they merely neglected in the back of her mind as her own prejudices filmed into the surface?
Elena stood looking up at the rosy hue across the now clearing sky, the golden fingers of the young sun piercing through the grayish clouds. She breathed heavily as a breeze ruffled the blonde lock of her hair. Closing her eyes, she clenched her fist on the hilt of her sword. It didn’t take her a long time to unsheathe and slash it in the air with such precision that she made a straight line. A yellow flash followed the trail of the track her sword had taken just as a big crack wounded the dimension.A smirk made its way to her lips when a sound of breaking china echoed and a glass-like dome fell like curtains on the ground to reveal the street where thousands of warriors were slain, lying helpless on the pool of their own blood. Wheeling around, she found Hera’s uncon
Hera had never thought the day would come she’d stand to face death with nothing but a dagger and her ability to boot. It seemed she simply made the wrong decision of picking this sharp, pointed knife, but if she had chosen a sword or any other weapon perhaps, would she have time to master them? In any case, compared to the woman now sprinting toward them, her eyes intent at Hera, malice and thrill apparent in its glint, her sword-wielding would probably be trivial.“Are we just going to stand here and wait?” whispered Yara, her voice breaking a little.Sheels breathed heavily. “We don
Style and Trust. Those were two of the many valuable things Hera had learned being with the League and were basically something she never would have cared about. Looking back, she was a rogue orphan, of whose being were even to darkness incomparable. There was too much she was containing inside her that her soul sort of just became evil. She isolated herself, push everyone who dared walk on the line of her boundary without much contemplation. She was afraid. It was a human that brought about her suffering, so why should the others be any different?And so, she lived most of her life always guarding her back in case someone tried to be sneaky and stab her from behind. She hated herself for what she was, but she had also learned that living in the past would n
When Hera woke up, it took her a moment to realize why she had opened her eyes. Hadn’t she already covered that she did die? Or was it just some kind of dream while she’s perfectly awake? One thing’s for sure, though. It was not Sheels’s memory. If it was, which she doubted, she should have remembered it. Besides, as far as the world was concerned, she was yet to venture into any forest, let alone be trapped in the middle of it. If she had only forgotten it, it should have struck a certain recollection. Since nothing made sense, then it could either be a premonition or a terrible nightmare.“You haven’t told her yet?”“That’s terrible, Sheels!”
“I won’t back down anymore. This time it’s different—I’m different. Take me as a trainee once again.”After walking out from the training and hyperventilating in front of Kioven, Hera trailed for how many days, weighing down chances, and thinking over everything that had transpired. She had never seen a single strand of the League, for she once again locked herself inside her dorm that was now fixed to the way it was before as though she had never destroyed it in the first place.“I confess myself disappointed, Hera,” started Sheels, sipping her cup of coffee, though